Dozens of Major Events Now Being Canceled Across the US Over COVID-19

Billy Joel performs at the 2013 New Orleans Jazz Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, La., on April 27, 2013. Rick Diamond/Getty Images

In light of a recent increase in COVID-19 “Delta” cases and despite an uptick in vaccinations, a number of major events and concerts are being canceled across the United States.

Former Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks, for example, announced on Aug. 11 that she’s canceling all her remaining performances in the United States, including dates in California and Colorado next month, as well as performances scheduled for New Orleans and Austin, Texas, later this year.

“Because singing and performing have been my whole life, my primary goal is to keep healthy so I can continue singing for the next decade or longer,” Nicks wrote on social media, adding that she wants to perform again next year. “I’m devastated and I know the fans are disappointed, but we will look towards a brighter 2022.”

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s record label said the band’s Aug. 11 show in Houston, Texas, was canceled because the venue wouldn’t “comply with the band’s updated Health and Safety standards.”

Singer Garth Brooks said last week that he would consider rescheduling the remainder of his stadium tour across the United States in light of the COVID-19 Delta variant.

It was announced on Aug. 9 that the famous New Orleans Jazz Festival for 2021 would be canceled over “rising cases” of COVID-19 in Louisiana, according to reports.

The festival’s organization wrote on its website that the cancelation was “a result of the current exponential growth of new Covid cases in New Orleans and the region and the ongoing public health emergency,” coming after it was postponed several times this year.

Stevie Nicks, center, is seen in a March 29, 2019, photo. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

“We now look forward to next spring, when we will present the Festival during its traditional timeframe. Next year’s dates are April 29–May 8, 2022,” the jazz festival added.

The city of New Orleans, meanwhile, canceled its yearly Red Dress Run, NOLA.com reported, noting that people will likely show up anyway to partake in the event. Several other events scheduled in New Orleans have also been canceled recently over COVID-19 cases, the outlet noted.

Among other cancelations, nu-metal band Limp Bizkit announced on Aug. 9 that it wouldn’t perform its remaining tour dates in the month of August due to COVID-19 cases rising.

“Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the band, crew and most of all the fans, the Limp Bizkit show this Monday and the remaining August tour is being canceled,” the band said on its website. Limp Bizkit was scheduled to play in New Jersey last week but canceled the event just hours beforehand.

In Florida’s Panhandle, an arts event in Pensacola called Gallery Night was canceled and replaced by a virtual session due to COVID-19, local media reported.

On New York’s Long Island, the 2021 New York Oyster Festival—which usually attracts thousands of people in Oyster Bay—was canceled due to rising case numbers.

“The health and well-being of the residents of our beloved Oyster Bay-East Norwich community and the festival attendees is our primary concern,” the event said in a statement.

COVID-19 is the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.