Yes Guitarist Steve Howe Says Recovery From Surgery Is Progressing ‘Slowly’ Ahead of 2027 Fragile Tour

Yes guitarist Steve Howe has given a health update roughly three months after undergoing the operation that forced the band to postpone its Fragile tour earlier this year. Speaking to Guitar Player in an interview published September 18, 2026, Howe said he is “making progress, slowly” and that returning to full form will still take time.

In April 2026, Yes had announced it was postponing its planned UK and European Fragile tour, which was originally set to launch on April 22, so that Howe could undergo what the band described as an essential operation requiring recovery time. Yes now expects to pick the tour back up in May 2027.

• Yes postponed its April 2026 UK and EU Fragile tour dates due to Howe’s need for surgery.
• Howe says it has been three months since his operation as of the September 2026 interview.
• Yes released its 24th studio album, Aurora, in June 2026, produced by Howe.
• The rescheduled Fragile tour is set to begin May 2, 2027, in Sheffield, England.
• Yes’s September 2026 Japan tour dates were also postponed and are expected to be rescheduled for 2027.

What Did Steve Howe Say About His Surgery Recovery?

Howe kept details of the procedure itself private, telling Guitar Player, “I don’t want to dwell on it too much; if I start talking I’ll go somewhere I don’t want to go.” He described the ordeal as significant, adding, “I had this major thing and it was pretty difficult,” and cautioned that “it’s gonna take some time to get me back to normal.”

Despite the slow pace of recovery, Howe said he has kept his hands on the guitar throughout the process. He said, “I’m keeping up my playing and my momentum. It’s been three months now since I had the operation, so I’m making progress, slowly.”

Why Did Yes Postpone Its 2026 Tour Plans?

Howe acknowledged how hard it was to shelve the band’s touring plans for the year, especially with a new album already out. “It’s immensely disappointing; I feel it probably more than anybody else because I’m the subject matter of it,” he said. He added that Yes had “ambitious goals that we just had to postpone ’til next year,” while noting that Aurora’s release could not be delayed since it was already far along in the release process.

Looking ahead, Howe said the band has moved its entire 2026 slate of plans into 2027. “We rescheduled everything we had this year for next year and hopefully everything will be hunky dory and we’ll be back around and try and do all the things we were going to do this year,” he said.

Yes 2027 Fragile Tour Dates

Yes is set to resume touring in May 2027 by performing its 1971 album Fragile in full alongside other material, beginning in the United Kingdom before moving on to Japan. Howe said North American shows are also under consideration, though no specifics have been finalized. The band’s official touring calendar reportedly lists the following:

• May 2, 2027: Sheffield, England
• Additional dates in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and France running through May 20, 2027

Yes’s Japanese shows, originally scheduled for September 2026, were pushed back after Howe’s recovery took longer than the band had first expected. Those Japanese dates are expected to be rescheduled sometime in 2027, though exact dates have not yet been confirmed.

Yes’s 2026 Album Aurora and the Magnification Reissue

Yes released Aurora, its 24th studio album, in June 2026, with Howe producing for the third consecutive record following 2021’s The Quest and 2023’s Mirror to the Sky. Howe called Aurora “the pinnacle of our achievement” and said the three most recent Yes albums function as a kind of trilogy demonstrating that the band still has creative momentum beyond its earlier catalog.

Yes also put out a 25th anniversary edition of Magnification, an album notable for its use of a full orchestra and for being the final Yes record to feature co-founder Jon Anderson before his 2004 departure from the band.

More Info

• “It’s gonna take some time to get me back to normal.” Yes guitarist Steve Howe on the operation that postponed the Fragile tour | Guitar Player
• Yes Guitarist Steve Howe Gives Health Update After Surgery, Confirms Plans to Return to Touring in 2027 | rockumweb.com
• Steve Howe Shares Some Bad News on His Future with Yes After Health Struggles | rockcelebrities.net
• Steve Howe Is ‘Making Progress, Slowly’ Months After Surgery | Ultimate Classic Rock