The Civil Wars abruptly cancel tour, citing “internal discord”

Fans of The Civil Wars were stunned today when the Grammy-winning duo announced on its Facebook and Twitter pages that touring plans were off. Their official Web site appears to have also crashed following the announcement.

A statement that seemed to seethe with barely repressed hostility was attributed to both members of the duo, John Paul White and Joy Williams (pictured together in happier times). Williams' husband is the band's manager.

“We sincerely apologize for the canceling of all of our tour dates,” they said. “It is something we deeply regret. However, due to internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition we are unable to continue as a touring entity at this time. We thank each and every one of you for your amazing love and support.”

Striking a hopeful note, they added, “Our sincere hope is to have new music for you in 2013.”

Finally, in an extremely unusual move, the duo offered to reimburse fans for their travel expenses associated with the cancelled shows.

“We understand that there are many of you stuck with service charges and travel reservations due to our abrupt cancelations,” the statement read. “Please email us at info@thecivilwars.co​m if there are costs incurred that you would like to be reimbursed for, include a scan or attachment to your receipt(s) of the costs, and we will do our best to reimburse you for non-refundable charges.”

Fan reaction to the tour cancellation was swift. Within an hour of the statement being posted on Facebook, nearly 2,000 had added comments, with messages ranging from supportive (“There are a lot of broken hearts tonight”) to angry (“Please figure it out, grow up, or do what else is needed. This is not just about you”).