Kid Rock says most of band has COVID-19, cancels Texas concerts

Kid Rock canceled plans to perform Friday and Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas, citing multiple positive cases of COVID-19 among the musician’s band.

The singer, born Robert Ritchie, said Thursday that most of his band has contracted COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the contagious coronavirus, and would not be performing this weekend as planned.

In an expletive-laden statement made available on the Kid Rock website, the multi-Grammy Award-nominated performer said that more than half of his group has COVID-19 but that he does not have it himself.

“I am beyond upset and you real ones know I would never cancel if I absolutely didn’t have too [sic]. For this, I am sorry,” the rock and rap artist said in the statement.

Mr. Ritchie, 50, said he and “many” of his bandmates are vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccines have been found to be very effective at preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19 but do not stop transmission of the coronavirus.

Kid Rock had planned to perform both concerts at a venue called Billy Bob’s where the band played two sold-out shows the previous weekend. The group’s next concert is scheduled for Sept. 18 in Maryland.

Close to 4,500 people attended each of the Kid Rock concerts last weekend, the Dallas Morning News reported. A spokesperson for the venue said it checks the temperature of artists, their crew and guests.

Marty Travis, Billy Bob’s general manager, said Kid Rock’s management told him Thursday that half of the band was sick and that its members were uncomfortable traveling, the newspaper reported.

Kid Rock, as he has been known professionally for more than 30 years, performed several concerts before the recent pair of Texas shows, including an Aug. 8 date at the popular Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.

Hundreds of thousands of people attended Sturgis this summer, raising concerns about it becoming a “superspreader” event responsible for multiple new COVID-19 infections.

South Dakota reported 3,655 active COVID-19 cases as of Aug. 24, CBS News reported Friday. Compared to the 657 cases recorded on Aug. 4, the latest number indicates an increase of about 456%.

Video footage uploaded to YouTube of the Kid Rock performance at Sturgis shows at least eight other artists on stage. That would mean at least five members have COVID-19 if the singer’s claim that more than half of the group has contracted it is correct.