Lynyrd Skynyrd has pulled out of four concerts in its summer tour, including the Pro Football Hall of Fame concert, after guitarist Rickey Medlocke tested positive for COVID-19.
The country rock band was set to co-headline the concert Monday night with Brad Paisley, but Medlocke's positive test forced the group´s withdrawal, according to a band statement. He is 71 years old.
'Rickey is home resting and responding well to treatment,' the group posted on Facebook Saturday, noting that they will continue to update fans on his condition.
Jimmie Allen, who was the opening act, has extended his set list to open the show. He performs a duet with Paisley on the current hit Freedom Was a Highway.
The band has also suspended shows in Jackson, Mississippi; Atlanta; and Cullman, Alabama, with the August 13 show in Atlanta rescheduled for October 23.
Rickey Medlocke, seen here in 1982, has tested positive for the coronavirus
Lynyrd Skynyd, seen here performing in 2018, has canceled four of its upcoming concerts after guitarist Medlocke, right, tested positive for COVID
The band announced the cancelations in a Facebook post Saturday and noted Medlocke is 'home resting and responding well to treatment'
The band was already short-staffed after another guitarist, Gary Rossington, 69, who has been playing with the band since its early days in Jacksonville, Florida, has missed the majority of the tour as he recovers from emergency heart surgery.
Rossington has had a history of heart problems, Rolling Stone reports, having undergone heart surgery previously in 2015 and then again in 219 to repair a heart valve.
The band brought in Alabama-based guitarist Damon Johnson to fill in while Rossington continues his recovery.
In July, the band wished him a speedy recovery in an Instagram post, writing: 'Our thoughts and prayers are with Gary Rossington as he recovers from emergency heart surgery.'
The post noted that Gary was at home resting with his family and 'wants everyone to know he is doing good and expects a full recovery.'
The band was already short-staffed after its other guitarist, Gary Rossington, right, is recovering from emergency heart surgery
The country, meanwhile, is seeing a rise in coronavirus cases, with 124,928 new cases reported on Friday and more than 35 million new cases reported over the past 30 days, as the Delta variant continues to spread through communities.
Deaths, however, have remained rather stagnant, with 614,291 new deaths reported over the past months and 630 deaths reported nationwide on Friday.
A majority of Americans have now been vaccinated, the CDC announced over the weekend, with 50.1 percent of the total population receiving both doses of the COVID vaccine and 58.5 percent receiving at least one dose.
