JazzFest

New Orleans Jazz Fest cancelled due to COVID-19 – Stevie Nicks, Jason Isbell also pull tours

Scheduled for October 8th, the popular Jazz & Heritage festival has been cancelled by organisers in another part of Covid-19 tour cancellations in the US. The Rolling Stones were due to perform on Oct 13th.

A statement reads

“As a result of the current exponential growth of new COVID cases in New Orleans and the region and the ongoing public health emergency, we must sadly announce that the 2021 edition of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, scheduled to take place October 8 –17, 2021, will not occur as planned. We now look forward to next spring, when we will present the Festival during its traditional timeframe. Next year’s dates are April 29 – May 8, 2022”.

As Covid-19 cases rise in the US, recent tour cancellations have come from Stevie Nicks, Jason Isbell and Limp Bizkit. Steve Nicks cited personal concerns while Jason Isbell previously asked venues to require proof of vaccine or a negative test but faced a backlash.

Speaking about venues, Isbell told told MSNBC “The problem is they’re just getting so much pushback from some of the governors of certain states who want to kowtow to their political base, and try to make people think their freedom is being encroached upon.”

In the UK some artists such as Richard Ashcroft (Verve) refuse to play venues where a negative test or proof of vaccine is required.