After a rain-out on Saturday (7/31) in Nashville, TN, more of Garth Brooks’ tour dates may be up in the air. With two stops planned for Kansas City, Missouri (8/7) and Lincoln, Nebraska (8/14), the remaining dates for the superstar’s stadium tour may be put on hold due to the rising COVID numbers.
“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,” said the superstar in a press release. “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.”
According to a press release, Brooks was set to play in Seattle three weeks after the Nebraska date, but he and his team will pause on selling tickets while they monitor the ongoing COVID pandemic.
In a report from the Kansas City Star, Brooks was already looking out for fans by adding a vaccine clinic on site at his concert at Arrowhead Stadium on August 7.
“We’re going to continue to take advantage of every opportunity we can to create vaccination opportunities,” said Kansas City Chiefs president Mark Donovan during a recent media call (quote via PEOPLE. “We’ve got a little concert coming up here with Garth Brooks with about 70,000-plus fans, and we’re working on having a vaccination site on-site for the concert. We’ll continue to do that. Not sure if we’re going to be able to do it on game days. We’re trying to work through that as well.”
According to NBC, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the seven-day average of daily coronavirus cases in the U.S. has surpassed the peak of last summer’s numbers without an authorized vaccine. CNBC reported earlier this week that 70% of U.S. adults have received at least the first dose of one of the approved vaccines.
Brooks is likely not the only country star watching the rising COVID numbers. Many stars, including Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett and more are either already on tour or planning to kick one off in the coming weeks.
COVID hits close to home for the Oklahoma native as his wife and fellow country star Trisha Yearwood battled the virus earlier this year. The singer, who is also known for her skills in the kitchen, lost her sense of smell and taste, and quickly got her vaccine as soon as she recovered.
For more information on how to get a COVID-19 vaccine, search vaccines.gov, text your ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find locations near you in the U.S.