Steve Miller Band cancels tour, including Jones Beach show, citing extreme weather risks

The Steve Miller Band has canceled its current tour, which included a stop at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater on Aug. 24, citing "extreme" weather risks, according to the group’s website.

Miller’s 31-date American tour was to begin Aug. 15 in upstate Bethel, and end in Anaheim, California, on Nov. 8.

"You make music with your instincts," Miller and his band said in a message on their website that was addressed to fans. "Always trust your instincts ..." The message went on: "The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest-fires makes these risks for you our audience, the band and crew unacceptable."

Summing up, Miller, 81, said, "So ... You can blame it on the weather ... The tour is canceled."

The Steve Miller Band is known for nearly a dozen feel-good rock tunes, including "The Joker," "Fly Like an Eagle," "Take the Money and Run" and "Jungle Love," that became FM-radio staples and frat-party favorites throughout the 1970s and into the '80s. Their compilation album "Greatest Hits 1974-78” has sold 15 million copies. Miller, 81, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.

The Steve Miller Band, one of the longest-touring acts on the live circuit, has rarely missed a year of touring since forming in 1966, according to concert database Setlist.fm.

Canceling a tour due to generalized potential weather concerns is highly unusual. According to the trade publication Variety, sales for Miller’s shows had been somewhat soft. Miller made no mention on his website about rescheduling another tour, but he struck a somewhat hopeful note: "Don’t know where, don’t know when ... We hope to see you all again."

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com