Garth Brooks is canceling the remainder of the shows on his Stadium Tour for 2021, as cases of COVID-19 are once again on the rise across the country. Brooks shared the news in a press release, explaining his decision.
“In July, I sincerely thought the pandemic was falling behind us,” Brooks said. “Now, watching this new wave, I realize we are still in the fight and I must do my part. I have asked the wonderful cities of Cincinnati and Charlotte to wait too long and I don’t want to now do that same thing to the great folks in Boston and Baltimore.”
Brooks is understandably disappointed that the tour is not continuing, while also grateful for the shows he did get to perform.
“The joy I have seen in everyone’s faces as live music returns has been more than worth our constant diligence to maintain safety protocols not only for the fans, but for our band, the crew and the hard working staff in these stadiums,” Brooks says. “Their dedication to safety for the people who fill those seats has been a miracle to watch and a blessing to receive. I am truly grateful.”
Brooks also spoke about his show at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, which was to be rescheduled after the weather made the concert impossible to continue.
“As far as Nashville, we are looking for a make up date from the July rain out and though this is not COVID related, to make them wait makes me sad, as well,” Brooks says. “So, it is with a heavy heart we announce the decision to cancel all 5 shows but with a hopeful heart, we will reschedule and start over when this wave seems to be behind us.”
The Country Music Hall of Fame member earlier hinted that he was considering canceling or postponing several of his shows, if cases of COVID-19 continued to increase.
“It breaks my heart to see city after city go on sale and then have to ask those sweet people and the venues to reschedule,” Brooks said (via KOMO). “We have a three-week window coming up where we, as a group, will assess the remainder of the Stadium Tour this year. It’s humbling to see people put this much faith in you as an artist, and it kills me to think I am letting them down.”
Although Brooks had to cancel the dates on his Stadium Tour due to logistics, he does hint that there is a chance fans will be able to see him perform live later this year.
“I’m sincerely hoping we are back on tour before the year’s end,” Brooks conceded. “With that said, the most important thing to me is fulfilling my end of the Stadium Tour by making sure every show is doable before putting tickets on sale (that is why we pulled the Seattle on sale) and making sure the environment these people are trading their time and money to put themselves into is not only the best experience ever, but also the safest one we can provide.”
While heartbreaking, to both Brooks and his fans, the country music hitmaker previously said he would be happy to what he could to help stop the spread of the virus.
“As much as I would hate to do it, it’d be an honor because you feel like you’re doing your part,” Brooks told People, adding that he would “stand down again” if that was the right thing to do. “We were lucky enough to survive last year. We’ll pull together and survive this year if everything shuts down [again].”
The five cities impacted by this decision are Cincinnati, Ohio on September 18th; Charlotte, North Carolina on September 25th; Baltimore, Maryland on October 2nd; Foxborough, Massachusetts on October 9th; and Nashville, which had yet to be rescheduled.
Updates will be posted at GarthBrooks.com.