Stevie Nicks fans won’t be seeing the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman at BottleRock this year after all. The musician announced today that she’s canceling all five of her 2021 live appearances, which included the Napa Valley music festival slated for Labor Day weekend Sept. 3–5.
“These are challenging times with challenging decisions that have to be made,” Nicks said in a statement published by Variety. “I want everyone to be safe and healthy and the rising Covid cases should be of concern to all of us. While I’m vaccinated, at my age, I am still being extremely cautious and for that reason have decided to skip the five performances I had planned for 2021.”
“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,” she added. “I’m devastated and I know the fans are disappointed, but we will look towards a brighter 2022.”
The singer, 73, announced her decision as conversations around safety at music festivals pick up around the world. Over 2,000 new coronavirus cases were linked to three recent music festivals in Catalonia, Spain, raising concerns about outdoor transmission. And 1,000 cases were linked to a Dutch music festival last month, despite the event requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test.
BottleRock recently announced that either a negative COVID test with a 72-hour window or proof of at least one vaccine dose will be required for entry. But, as recent events have shown, measures such as these are not foolproof against COVID in tightly packed crowds. Most of the United States, including Napa County, is at high risk of community transmission for the virus right now. Vaccinated people tend to experience fewer and less serious symptoms, although they can still transmit the virus if they become infected, and about 63% of California’s population is fully vaccinated.
