Jake Worthington said Friday evening, May 22, that he is stepping away from music for a period to work on himself, a pause that immediately wiped out a run of shows stretching from late May into July. In a message to fans, he said, “I need to take some time to work on myself for my wife and daughter,” and added, “I promise I will come back even better.”
The move affects a packed stretch of dates that had included opening slots for Luke Combs in Montreal on May 29 and May 30 and in Toronto on June 5 and June 6. Worthington was also scheduled to play Rock The South on June 13 and the Hodag Festival on July 12, with a few solo tour dates in June that have now disappeared from his website. His next scheduled appearance was listed for July 24 at The Great Texas Mosquito Festival in Clute, Texas.
Worthington, who finished second on the sixth season of The Voice and later released the 2025 album When I Write The Song, has become one of the recognizable names in country music’s neotraditional resurgence. He is from LaPorte, Texas, near Houston, and his announcement lands at a time when fans had been watching a steady climb that included festival bookings and major tour support slots.
The timing also leaves a gap that is larger than one artist’s calendar. Saving Country Music said Worthington had cleared his tour schedule until late July, and the canceled dates vanished from his site after the announcement. The outlet also noted that he is one of several artists who have stepped away from touring recently to deal with mental health or other personal issues, a reality that has become more visible as the pace of country touring keeps rising.
Worthington’s note was brief and personal, and that is what gives it weight. He described a life that had started to run him instead of the other way around, saying, “I live a life as my heroes did, but that life gotten a hold of me,” before ending with, “I love my family my friends and my fans too much to let it take over me.” For now, the answer to what comes next is plain: he is stepping back, he has cleared the road ahead, and he says he will return.
When he does, he is promising a reset, not an ending. “God bless country music. JW.”
