TNT's TONY HARNELL To Undergo 'Time-Sensitive Medical Procedure'

Norwegian/American hard rockers TNT have canceled three previously announced shows for August in order to allow singer Tony Harnell to "undergo a time-sensitive medical procedure for which the minimum recovery time is six weeks."

Tony says in a statement: "Hello dear friends and TNT fans, just want to let you all know that I have to undergo a time-sensitive medical procedure next week that requires a six-week recovery period. Don't worry! My voice is totally fine and I will also be fine! I'd rather not get into details at this time, but rest assured I'll be back onstage soon! Just a little bump in the rock n roll road! Much love, Tony".

Affected TNT shows:

Aug. 02 - Notodden Blues Festival (NBF) – Notodden, Norway
Aug. 03 - Bergenhus Festning – Bergen, Norway
Aug. 10 - Havnafestivalen - Sandnessjøen, Norway

TNT deeply regrets this unfortunate circumstance and will return to the stage next year.

Harnell beat thyroid cancer in 2009 and later appeared in advertisements for the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists in order to share his story and help educate others about the warning signs of thyroid cancer.

TNT played its first concert with returning singer Harnell on June 2, 2023 at Jærnåttå in Bryne, Norway.

The 61-year-old Harnell, who was born in San Diego, grew up in California and moved to New York when he was 16, announced his return to TNT in November 2022, saying that he would reteam with guitarist Ronni LeTekrø and drummer Morten "Diesel" Dahl on stage in 2023 and beyond for select live appearances. The trio is joined in the current TNT lineup by returning bassist Sid Ringsby, who played with TNT for the first time on the "All The Way To The Sun" album in 2005 and has appeared with TNT at various concerts over the years.

In April 2021, Harnell, who has been in and out of TNT several times throughout its four-decade existence, told "The Chuck Shute Podcast" that he didn't rule out returning to the band. "Ronni and I, contrary to popular belief, we talk often," he said. "Most of the things that pushed us apart — again, contrary to popular belief — are business related. I'll just leave it at that. 'Never say never' is a good way to put it [regarding a possible new TNT album]. And there might be a time and a place."

Harnell's most recent split with TNT took place in October 2017, less than a year and a half after he rejoined the group. He later described his relationship with TNT in an "Unphiltered" interview as "a very long marriage. I'm here [in New York], they're there [in Norway] — they're across the pond really far away. It's a very difficult situation to be in without having a very unified business organization, and no matter what I did, I could not get the thing unified. We were just on two totally separate not only continents physically, but mentally, psychologically, we were on two different continents as well."

Harnell said that he "really, really wanted" his last collaboration with TNT to work out. "In my opinion, this was gonna be it — we were gonna stay together until I didn't feel like singing anymore," he said. 'I was gonna do other things and do other projects and so forth, but my goal was that TNT would be my band for at least another five years, maybe 10 years or whatever, until it ran its course. So this was kind of an unexpected thing."

TNT's latest studio album, "XIII", came out in June 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl. The band's thirteenth LP was TNT's first to feature vocalist Baol Bardot Bulsara, who replaced Harnell. Baol is a Spanish singer whose debut with TNT happened in front of 8,000 fans in November 2017 when the band opened for German hard rock legends the SCORPIONS in Oslo, Norway.