Zayn Malik Reschedules U.S. Stairway to the Sky Tour After Postponing in Wake of Liam Payne Death

Zayn Malik has rescheduled his Stairway to the Sky tour after previously postponing the U.S. dates of the outing following the death of his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne. Zayn will now pick up the dates beginning with a Jan. 21 show at the Anthem in Washington, D.C., followed by two gigs at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, as well as dates in Los Angeles and Las Vegas before winding down with a Feb. 3 concert at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.

The U.S. leg of what was to be Malik’s first-ever headlining tour — in support of his fourth solo album, Room Under the Stairs — was originally scheduled to take place in October and November of this year. But on Saturday, the “Pillowtalk” singer told fans that he was delaying the U.S. run that was originally scheduled to launch on Wednesday (Oct. 23) in San Francisco.

“Given the heartbreaking loss experienced this week, I’ve made the decision to postpone the US leg of the STAIRWAY TO THE SKY Tour,” Malik wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The dates are being rescheduled for January and I’ll post them as soon as it’s all set in the next few days. Your tickets will remain valid for the new dates. Love you all and thank you for your understanding.”

Malik is still slated to hit the road in the U.K. next month, kicking off with a pair of shows on Nov. 20-21 at the O2 Academy Edinburgh, followed by stops in Leeds, Manchester, London, Wolverhampton and Newcastle Upon Tyne.

The postponement of the U.S. dates came after Payne’s death in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Oct. 16 at age 31 following a fall from the balcony of his hotel room. An initial toxicology report found that Payne had a number of drugs in his body at the time of death, including a recreational drug referred to as “pink cocaine,” a mixture that often contains ketamine combined with MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids and/or psychoactive substances.

Payne had openly discussed his struggles with addiction in the past. In May 2023, he celebrated 100 days of sobriety. “I feel really, really good, and support from the fans and everything has been really, really good. So, I’m super happy,” he said at the time. The loss has hit Directioners and fellow artists hard, perhaps none so much as Payne’s former bandmates in 1D, who issued both a group statement, as well as their own individual comments about their late brother in song.

“I can’t help but think selfishly that there was so many more conversations for us to have in our lives,” Malik wrote in his remembrance alongside a photo of himself laying in Payne’s lap when the two were world-beating teenager pop stars. “I never got to thank you for supporting me through some of the most difficult times in my life. When I was missing home as a 17 yr old kid you would always be there with a positive outlook and reassuring smile and let me know you were my friend and I was loved.”

Click here to see Zayn’s full run of rescheduled U.S. dates.