Newsboys' Tour Canceled after Troubling Revelation about Lead Singer's Exit
Milton Quintanilla
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By Milton Quintanilla, Crosswalk.com
The Newsboys' 2025 Canadian tour has been canceled by Faith Live, the Christian ministry and promoter behind the event, due to a "lack of transparency" surrounding the departure of longtime lead singer Michael Tait.
"This is not a decision we made lightly or without heartache. It comes after prayer, wise counsel, planning, financial sacrifice, and an unwavering desire to see lives transformed through worship and community. We invested not just resources, but our hearts-believing this tour could be a powerful move of God across our nation," Faith Live founder Sheena Hennink said in a Facebook post Saturday.
She noted that her promotion was uninformed in "advance" regarding the band's abrupt change in lineup following 15 years in which Tait served as lead singer until this past January, which confused both ticket holders and Faith Live.
"Since that time, additional information regarding the nature of his exit has surfaced. This information has come from sources we consider credible and trustworthy, and while we will not speculate publicly, we can say with confidence that what has come to light has raised serious concerns for us as a faith-based organization."
Additionally, Hennink claimed that the Newsboys team failed to offer "any meaningful support or artist engagement" to help audiences connect with new frontman Adam Agee.
"The handling of that transition really lacked clarity and transparency, leaving both our team and the general public in a difficult position."
Regarding the lineup change, Hennink said that Faith Live was instructed not to address questions regarding the lineup change, which she contended compromised the integrity of her lineup.
"We believe this is not in the best interest of our ticket holders," she said.
As ticket holders await compensation for the tour cancellation, Faith Live promised to contact them within 30 days.
On the other hand, Newsboys released their own statement expressing "deep disappointment" and blamed Faith Live for canceling the tour.
"Unfortunately, despite repeated efforts to hold this tour together, Faith Live has materially breached the agreement and failed to meet core obligations necessary to responsibly execute these events," the band said.
The band, which maintained to have provided updated marketing materials and complete transparency, further accused the promoter of not providing the necessary artist deposits, confirming payments to supporting acts, coordinating technical production with venues, communicating with venue staff, management, and tour partners, and even acknowledging that it was unable to reimburse ticket holders because of previous financial obligations.
Newsboys also said they had "no access to ticket revenue, no control over ticketing systems, and no legal or financial role in ticket refunds" and urged fans to contact the original ticket outlet or venue or consult their provincial consumer protection office.
"We are heartbroken for our Canadian fans," the band wrote. "We truly believe in what God is doing across Canada — and we remain committed to returning when the right doors are open and trustworthy partnerships are in place."
Although Tait said his decision came after "prayerful reflection" and a sense of clarity, Agee said the former DC Talk singer told the band "he was going to focus on himself" and stepped down just days before the tour began.
"I know that he left, and he just gave us a few reasons why he was stepping down, and he just said he's going to focus on himself," Agee told The Christian Post. "Other than that, I don't really know because we didn't really discuss it further. Hopefully, he'll make some kind of a statement soon, but that, again, is just up to him. We wish it had happened a little bit sooner, but there's nothing we can do about that, and I think we've tried to make the most out of it, and we wish him all the best moving forward."
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/John Medina/Contributor
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
