Florida Georgia Line announced that it is cancelling its planned fall tour, wiping clean a slate that had 29 dates on the schedule. The band cited the ongoing increase in case numbers from COVID-19 in its decision to cancel for the time being.
“There is nothing better than seeing all of your faces from the stage, feeling your good energy, and making memories together,” said FGL’s Tyler Hubbard in a statement. “We were hopeful we could get back on the road this fall, and are so bummed to have to cancel this tour, but we know in our hearts that we still have to make sure we’re keeping our fans and crew safe. It’s unfortunate that we have to cancel but we hope y’all understand. We love our fans and can’t wait to be back out when the time is right.”
“While we’ve been able to see some of y’all at shows recently, everyone’s continued safety has been weighing heavy on us,”a tweet announcing the cancellations posted August 20 read. “We’re so bummed to have to cancel this tour, but we love y’all and can’t wait to be back out when the time is right.”
The tour would have been the first for the band in its recently signed exclusive touring deal with Live Nation, inked last fall.
FGL’s decision to call off the tour must have come relatively quickly amid the summer surge in cases – the band’s official twitter account posted a video hyping the upcoming dates less than two weeks prior to the cancellation annoucement.
One week closer until tour y’all 🤙🏼 @russelled @lauren_alaina @redferrin https://t.co/qztVm231Zo pic.twitter.com/vYhvwJxmaP
— Florida Georgia Line (@FLAGALine) August 11, 2021
With live entertainment caught in a strange place as COVID cases surge following a rapid return to live this year, acts like FGL are taking differing positions on what to do with events that are on the calendar for 2021. Garth Brooks and Nine Inch Nails are among the acts that have taken the same route as FGL and cancelled their shows entirely, looking to keep their fans out of crowds (at least of their creation) until the numbers look better. Others, including the Jonas Brothers and Jason Isbell, have embraced the policies of AEG and Live Nation that impose vaccination/testing and mask wearing requirements on audiences, and are planning on pushing on with their events.
Refunds for tickets purchased to the tour, which had Russell Dickerson, Lauren Alaina and Redferrin on the bill as opening acts, will be automatically refunded to buyers who purchased through the primary box office. Consumers who purchased tickets through secondary markets will have to contact their point of purchase for refund or credit options.
