Barry Manilow Cancels Westgate Weekend Shows After Bronchitis Cuts Into Vegas Comeback

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2026

The comeback lasted exactly one full show. Barry Manilow, 83, has canceled his Friday and Saturday performances at the International Theater at Westgate Las Vegas after coming down with bronchitis, his representatives told Variety. "After a triumphant welcome-back concert on Thursday, Barry got hit with bronchitis and had to cancel his Friday and Saturday shows," the reps said, as reported by People. Thursday night, Oct. 8, was his first show in six weeks. Friday night, he reportedly sang two songs and walked off stage.

Friday nightTwo songs, a goodbye line, and the band left playing

The official line calls Friday canceled — but the Vegas entertainment blog Vital Vegas, as cited in Variety's reporting, says Manilow did take the stage that night, just barely. He performed two songs, then told the crowd "Talk amongst yourselves," per the blog, and left the stage. The band kept playing for a bit, according to the same account, before an announcement came over the speakers: "Due to circumstances beyond our control, that will be the conclusion of tonight's show."

After the show ended, attendees shared on social media that they received emails from Ticketmaster notifying them they would get refunds, according to Variety, as reported by People. If you were in the room Friday night, your money is coming back — small consolation for a crowd that had waited six weeks to see him.

The patternSecond early exit since August

This is not the first time this has happened this summer. It is the second time since August that Manilow has left that stage early, per Parade's reporting: in August he cut a show short and canceled two more. Thursday's comeback had been framed as the restart — his first show since Aug. 22, after he told fans he needed to sit down and rest following a bruising summer run of 29 shows in 68 days across the U.K. and the U.S. One full show later, the restart is on hold. We covered Thursday's triumphant return here — this is the follow-up nobody wanted to write.

Why it mattersThe word "bronchitis" carries extra weight for him

For Manilow, bronchitis is not just a bad cold. He revealed in December 2025 that a late-year bout of the illness is what led to the MRI that found a cancerous spot on his left lung. "As many of you know I recently went through six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks," he wrote at the time, per People. He was over it and back onstage at the Westgate when his doctor ordered the MRI to be sure everything was OK — and it wasn't. He announced a stage 1 lung cancer diagnosis on Dec. 22, 2025, per Parade, underwent a lobectomy — the removal of an entire lobe of a lung — and was back performing by June, with his first public appearance after surgery in April, per Parade's reporting.

That history is why fans are worried and why the reps' statement landed the way it did. Nobody at Westgate is saying anything about the cancer; bronchitis is the word being used, and the statement calls it plainly. But for anyone who followed the last year of his life, the word does not arrive lightly. The Vegas Daily roundup has the rest of today's city news.

Thursday's nightThe comeback that lasted one show

To understand why this stings, you have to remember how Thursday night went. After a six-week hiatus, Manilow walked onto the International Theater stage to a roaring crowd, told them "This is the first time back in a long time. I have some medical problems, but I'm back!" per reports from that night — and then the fans revived the old tradition of throwing underwear at him, just like the '70s. He joked about the laundry, kept a bright pink pair, and told the crowd he felt like a teenage idol again. It was, by every account, a beautiful night. The underwear made it 24 hours later feel especially cruel: one perfect evening, then the voice gave out.

What's nextOct. 15–17 still on the books — for now

As of Saturday afternoon, the Westgate's show page still lists his next dates as Oct. 15 to 17, per Parade, and the reps' statement did not say whether those shows are affected. His Westgate calendar runs through Dec. 19, including the "A Very Barry Christmas" holiday run, with new 2027 dates announced last month stretching into April. The machinery of the residency is intact; the only question is the man at the center of it. For now, the message to fans is the same one his reps put out: he'll be back somewhere down the road. After this weekend, nobody is taking that for granted. For more big Vegas entertainment news, see our F1 race-week guide.

Friday, Oct. 9 and Saturday, Oct. 10 shows at the International Theater, Westgate Las Vegas — bronchitis (per reps via Variety). A late-2025 bronchitis bout led to the MRI that found the cancerous spot on his lung; stage 1 lung cancer announced Dec. 22, 2025; lobectomy; back performing by June.