Whether people want to believe it or not, we are still in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. And while touring has come back in a big way over the last couple of months, cases are still affecting shows.
Loudwire reported Monday that over the weekend, more bands, namely KoRn, Mammoth WVH and Pop Evil, had to cancel or postpone gigs due to members of their crew coming down with the highly-contagious virus.
KoRn took to Facebook Saturday to give concertgoers a last-minute heads up about the postponement of their show that night in Scranton, PA. Said the post,
“Unfortunately, there has been a confirmed COVID-19 case within the Korn camp. The safety of our artists, crew, venue staff, and fans are our top priority, so we must postpone the show tonight.’
“We’re deeply sorry for this unfortunate last minute news, but please hold on to your tickets while we were to get your rescheduled date sorted ASAP with Live Nation and the Pavilion at Montage Mountain. Thank you for your understanding, and stay safe out there. We’ll be back soon.”
The group later confirmed it was vocalist Jonathan Davis who contracted the virus:
“We really appreciate your patience as we work out the next steps for our tour. On Saturday, we received the unfortunate news that Jonathan tested positive for Covid, and needless to say, we had to postpone the show last minute. As a result of his positive test, we also need to reschedule the next handful of shows. As always, our primary goal is to ensure the safety of everyone involved, so this is something that has to be done. Jonathan’s spirits are high, and he’s resting and recovering now. We’re as disappointed as you are about the circumstances, but we’ll get through it though, and we can’t wait to see you once we’re back, firing on all cylinders once again.
We thank you all for your love and support!KornThe following shows are going to be rescheduled:8/14 – Scranton, PA moving to 9/258/17 – Wantagh, NY moving to 9/288/18 – Holmdel, NJ moving to 9/268/20 – Hartford, CT moving to 10/28/21 – Mansfield, MA moving to 10/18/22 – Gilford, NH moving to 10/3The following dates are being cancelled due to scheduling conflicts:8/24 – Darien Center, NY*8/25 – Syracuse, NY*
*Ticketholders for these two dates will be contacted for refunds.”
Mammoth WVH had to pull out of a couple of dates of their tour with Guns N’ Roses as well, telling fans that they would not be appearing at Friday’s show Missoula, MT, and Monday’s show in Commerce City, CO. Said a post on the band’s social media,
“Mammoth WVH will not be performing tonight in Missoula, Mont. or Monday night in Commerce City, Colo. out of an abundance of caution due to a member of our touring personnel testing positive for COVID-19,” started their statement, adding. “All band members and other crew have tested negative at this time. We apologize to those fans we won’t be seeing over the next couple of shows. Thank to everyone for their support and we can’t wait to be back when it is 100 percent safe for everyone to do so.”
Pop Evil were also forced to postpone a show this weekend due to a positive Covid-19 test in their crew. Regarding Sunday’s gig in Denver, CO, the band posted to Facebook,
“One of the members of our team has tested positive for COVID-19. Out of concern for everyone in our organization and the safety of our fans, we will be postponing tonight’s show. We will test again tomorrow to determine the status of our upcoming shows.”
Following the initial announcement, the band revealed it was vocalist Leigh Kakaty who tested positive:
“To our Evilz, we always want to be fully transparent with our fans and the status of our shows. All of our band members and crew have been vaccinated prior to us starting tour. Yesterday, and again this morning, Leigh Kakaty tested positive for COVID-19. Leigh wanted to make sure his test wasn’t a false positive before postponing any more shows. With his second positive test this afternoon, out of an abundance of caution, we will be postponing our shows and be back for our show in Virginia Beach on August 27. We are doing our best to move the following shows: Denver, CO (8/15), Des Moines, IA (8/17), Fargo, ND (8/18), Joliet, IL (8/20), Nashville, TN (8/21), Savannah, GA (8/23), Asheville, NC (8/24) and Jacksonville, NC (8/25) to the end of the tour. Leigh is already feeling much better and will be back on his feet in no time. We want to thank everyone for their continued support! See you soon.”
These bands join a growing list of artists who have had to postpone or cancel tour dates due to members or crew testing positive for Covid-19. In the last couple of weeks, that list has grown to include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tesla, Fall Out Boy, Foo Fighters, Widespread Panic, Counting Crows and more.
Covid-19 cases have been on the rise across the United States over the last month. While most cases are among the 43% of citizens who are unvaccinated, there have been many “breakthrough” cases reported among those who have been vaccinated as well (such as Trivium frontman Matt Heafy).
This week, Live Nation announced that as of October 4, they would be requiring all artists, employees and attendees at their venues to either provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test to be allowed entry. AEG announced a similar requirement for their venues, requiring vaccination by October 1. Outside of the big promoters, some artists (such as the Dave Matthews Band and Foo Fighters) are taking it upon themselves to require vaccines or negative tests to gain entry to their shows. Still others (such as Limp Bizkit and Stevie Nicks) are putting their new dates on hold all over again “out of an abundance of caution” with the more transmissible Delta variant of the virus causing elevated concern for people’s safety.
