With Brian Setzer recovered from illness, Stray Cats to tour again this summer
Stray Cats, featuring drummer Slim Jim Phantom, singer-guitarist Brian Setzer and bassist Lee Rocker kick off their cross-country summer tour on July 24 in Las Vegas. Credit: Suzie Kaplan
After canceling their fall 2025 tour due to guitarist-vocalist Brian Setzer's health issues, the Stray Cats — featuring Setzer and fellow original members Lee Rocker (upright bass, vocals) and Slim Jim Phantom (drums, vocals) — will hit the road again with a monthlong, cross-country summer trek. The rockabilly trio will launch the tour July 24 in Las Vegas and conclude Aug. 16 in Morristown, New Jersey — including a show Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair on Aug. 14, the first time the Massapequa-founded band has played that venue.
"It's good to be healthy and strong again," Setzer, 66, said in a news release announcing the tour.
Setzer was diagnosed in February 2025 with an autoimmune disease that caused him to experience cramping in his hands and drastically impacted his guitar playing. "There is no pain, but it feels like I am wearing a pair of gloves when I play," he said at the time.
Setzer, now based in Minneapolis, has bounced back from a medical setback before. In 2019, tinnitus forced him to cancel his annual holiday concerts with his orchestra.
The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Famers are known for their 1980s hits "Rock This Town," "Stray Cat Strut" and “(She’s) Sexy + 17." The band first broke out in the U.K., but their roots are on Long Island, where they played dates at many local clubs.
General-public tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. For information on presales, go to straycats.com.
Andy Edelstein, Newsday's entertainment editor, supervises coverage of TV, celebrities, movies and pop music. He has written three books on popular culture, including "The Brady Bunch Book."
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