Stevie Nicks has canceled five forthcoming performances at music festivals, citing coronavirus concerns, she said in a statement Tuesday. Nicks had been scheduled to headline one day each of BottleRock Napa Valley in California and the Jazz Aspen Festival in Colorado in September. In October, she was to have played two days of the Austin City Limits Music Festival and one day of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
The dates were all the shows she had planned for 2021.
“These are challenging times with challenging decisions that have to be made. I want everyone to be safe and healthy and the rising Covid cases should be of concern to all of us,” the 73-year-old singer said in the statement. “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.”
Most of the festivals themselves are moving forward with replacement headliners. Country star Chris Stapleton will take Nicks’ place at BottleRock. “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’ statement said. “I’m devastated and I know the fans are disappointed, but we will look towards a brighter 2022.”
