- The Washington Times - Wednesday, August 11, 2021

Stevie Nicks has canceled plans to perform headlining sets at several U.S. music festivals due to what the Fleetwood Mac singer described as concerns about the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

“These are challenging times with challenging decisions that have to be made,” Ms. Nicks said Tuesday. “I want everyone to be safe and healthy and the rising COVID cases should be of concern to all of us.”

Ms. Nicks had been scheduled to perform as soon as early next month at first the BottleRock festival California and then the Jazz Aspen Festival in Colorado, both over Labor Day weekend Sept. 3-5.

She was then set to perform in October during both weekends of the Austin City Limits festival in Texas, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in Louisiana and the Shaky Knees festival in Georgia.

“While I’m vaccinated, at my age, I am still being extremely cautious and for that reason have decided to skip the 5 performances I had planned for 2021,” Ms. Nicks, 73, said in a statement.

“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,” Ms. Nicks said in the statement. “I’m devastated and I know the fans are disappointed, but we will look towards a brighter 2022.”

The spread of COVID-19, the contagious disease caused by the novel coronavirus, caused virtually all major touring acts to put their performances on hold beginning when the pandemic started in early 2020.

Most adults in the U.S. have since been vaccinated against COVID-19, making them significantly less likely to get severely ill or die from the disease and causing several artists to recently hit the road.

Nearly half the U.S. remains unvaccinated against COVID-19, however, and several parts of the country have recently begun experiencing spikes in positive COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths.

Indeed, the organizers of the annual New Orleans Jazz Fest, where Ms. Nicks had planned to perform, announced on Monday this week that they were canceling this year’s event over the surge in cases.

Country singer Chris Stapleton will perform instead of Ms. Nicks at BottleRock in Napa Valley, Billboard reported Wednesday. Jimmy Buffett will take her place at the Colorado event, according to The Aspen Times.

Austin City Limits has added two acts since Ms. Nicks dropped off, meanwhile. Tyler, the Creator and Duran Duran will perform both weekends of the fest, organizers said Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

Ms. Nicks, along with Christine McVie, has sung with Fleetwood Mac for most of the rock group’s existence. Both vocalists were inducted with their bandmates into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.

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