Brian Setzer Reveals He Has Autoimmune Disease, And “Cannot Play Guitar”

On Thursday (February 13), Brian Setzer announced that he “cannot play guitar” due to an autoimmune disease affecting his hands. The rockabilly legend shared his health update on Instagram, revealing that “Towards the end of the last Stray Cats tour I noticed that my hands were cramping up. I’ve since discovered that I have an auto-immune disease. There is no pain, but it feels like I am wearing a pair of gloves when I try to play.” Setzer has been making progress since the initial diagnosis, and is now able to “hold a pen and tie my shoes.” Setzer lives in the Minneapolis area, and is confident that he will overcome the disease with the quality medical care he is receiving from the Mayo Clinic in nearby Rochester, Minnesota. The Stray Cats concluded their last tour in August 2024, and Setzer is prepping a 25th anniversary reissue of the Brian Setzer Orchestra classic, Vavoom!, which is due out on March 21. (Consequence of Sound)