Stevie Nicks cancels US performances amid Covid concerns

Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks cancels all of her solo concerts for the rest of the year because of rising cases of Covid in the US.

The 73 year old star was due to perform at events in Colorado, California and Texas, but has called them off. She says: “My primary goal is to keep healthy so I can continue singing for the next decade or longer”. “These are challenging times with challenging decisions”, but she wants everyone to stay safe and healthy. Nicks believes that “the rising Covid cases should be of concern to all of us”.

Due to the Delta variant, America is currently averaging over 100,000 new cases of the virus a day for the first time since February.

Extreme caution

Nicks became famous in the 1970s as the frontwoman of the second line-up of the band Fleetwood Mac. Hits included Go Your Own Way and Dreams, before she enjoyed success as a solo artist.

The musician is vaccinated, but due to her age is “still being extremely cautious”. This is the reason why she has decided to give the five planned performances in 2021 a miss. Singing and performing is her life, so she wants to ensure she stays healthy enough to continue. The news is devastating for her, and she knows she has disappointed the fans, but she is looking forward to “a brighter 2022”.

The cancelled shows include appearances at the Austin City Limits Music and BottleRock Napa Valley festivals.

Meanwhile, band Limp Bizkit also announced cancellation of the remaining dates of their US summer tour amid Covid concerns. They made the decision “out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the band, crew and most of all the fans”.

Singer Fred Durst says even if the performers and everyone behind the stage does all they can to ensure safety, it does not ensure the safety of the audience as a whole. Everyone is in the situation together, and need to do their part as an individual as well as a whole. We all need to make our best efforts to behave as responsibly as possible. To keep moving forward to fight and stop the spread of Covid, we need to take action.

The band had already completed a handful of performances on their Limited Last Minute Post Pandemic Popup Party Edition tour before stopping. Gigs in Austin, Los Angeles and elsewhere are all now scrapped.

Since announcing the cancellations, the group have faced rumours that band member Wes Borland has contracted Covid. Durst denies this, saying the decision was in response to a “seriously flawed” system.

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