Matt Rife Apologizes for Having to Cancel Sold-Out Comedy Shows Last Minute

A bunch of Indianans missed out on comedy shows from Matt Rife this week -- this after he abruptly canceled two sold-out gigs ... something he says he's very sorry about.

The comic was scheduled to perform 2 comedy shows Wednesday in Bloomington, IN -- and according to reports on the ground ... MR and co. pulled the plug on both of them very last-minute, apparently about 20 minutes or so after the first show was already set to start.

Of course, people were pissed and started firing away on social media ... slamming Matt for the late heads-up, and were extra pissed since these shows had already been postponed from February.

Words is, the only explanation offered to the theater-goers was a vague health scare -- which Matt himself addressed on his Instagram account, where he handed down an apology.

He wrote, "I'm so f***ing sorry, but due to a last minute medical emergency i have to reschedule our shows tonight (again). I've been doing 40+ shows a month for a year and half and never had to do something like this, I'm so sorry."

Matt adds, "i hope you understand and i love you so much." While his mea culpa certainly felt sincere -- and BTW, he doesn't cancel like this all that often -- it's unclear if folks are accepting it.

Now, he did clarify that refunds would be issued and that he and his team are working on making sure everyone gets their money back ... taking to Twitter to apologize yet again.

Couple takeaways from this -- one, MR's one of the biggest comedians in the game right now ... so that's why people are up in arms about it. The fact his shows were sold out is a testament to how popular he is ... so him nixing a gig in the 11th hour is a big deal.