NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Garth Brooks has canceled the remaining stops on his stadium tour amid the resurgence of COVID-19 and the spread of the delta variant.
According to an update on Brooks' website, the 350,000 tickets for the remaining five stops on the tour will be refunded automatically through Ticketmaster.
Brooks canceled his Sept. 18 show at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, his Sept. 25 show at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, his Oct. 2 show at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and his Oct. 9 show at Gillette Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Brooks also refunded tickets to a July concert in Nashville, which had been postponed due to severe weather.
"In July, I sincerely thought the pandemic was falling behind us. Now, watching this new wave, I realize we are still in the fight and I must do my part," Brooks said in a statement published on his website. "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. 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. 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."
Brooks said he is hoping to reschedule and finish his stadium tour before the end of 2021. A spokesperson for the tour said Brooks and his team would "continue to monitor the virus' impact and watch how schools, sports, and other entertainment entities are handling this stage of the pandemic."
"I'm sincerely hoping we are back on tour before the year's end," Brooks' statement read. "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."
This story was originally published by Scripps station WTVF in Nashville, Tennessee.
