Australian Idol star Courtney Murphy, 46, cancels concert as he battles cancer: 'Won't have the energy to get through the show'

Courtney Murphy's band has cancelled an upcoming gig as the former Australian Idol star continues his battle with bowel cancer. 

The Murphy Brothers, a rock band consisting of Courtney, 46, and his brothers, Chris and Kieran, had an upcoming concert scheduled for a venue in Western Australia in November, but are unable to go ahead with it. 

'Hi everyone, we're sorry to say the Lake Monger show on 15 November is cancelled,' a statement from the group, shared on Instagram, read.

'As most of you are aware, brother Courtney has been battling stage four cancer for the last two and a half years, which involves fortnightly chemotherapy treatments. In order to continue our recording and live shows as much as we can, we schedule things on Courtney's 'good' week.'

They continued: 'Every now and then for a number of different reasons that schedule changes which is what has happened here so the show would now be on the same week he receives chemo.

'Because of this, he won't have the energy to get through the show, and we wouldn't dream of doing it without him.

'We know you'll be disappointed, but we're confident you'll understand his health comes first.'

Last year, Courtney said he doesn't believe he will 'beat' the disease he has battled for more than two years. 

'I'm not beating this, I'm just going to be as strong as long as I can, and that's all I'm going to focus on,' he told PerthNow.

'I'm going to pass away at some point, but I'll deal with that when that comes.'

Courtney said that he is currently focused on creating music with his brothers.

'I'm going to put out as much creative output as I possibly can with these two amazing human beings,' he added.

Courtney, who rose to fame on the singing competition Australian Idol in 2004, revealed he had late-stage bowel cancer in April 2024. 

The singer's brothers Kieran and Chris shared the devastating news of Courtney's cancer battle via a GoFundMe page.

'Our beautiful brother Courtney Murphy is in for the fight of his life,' began his family on the fundraising page.

'It is with heavy hearts that we share Court has been diagnosed with advanced stage bowel cancer. It's very serious.

'As a self-employed musician with a wife and three young children, Courtney will not be able to work for the foreseeable future which leaves his young family fighting much harder than we want them to be.' 

Since getting that bad news, Courtney has bravely returned to performing and recording, and has released music with his brothers. 

'With all the love and support we've received these past few months, it's great to be able to share some new music,' his brother Chris previously told Perth Now.

'Courtney's really proud of this album, we all are. It was a lot of fun to put together, and Courtney turned in a phenomenal performance. Of course, he steals the show.'

The shock news of Courtney's cancer followed the Murphy family losing their father to brain cancer in 2024.