Fleetwood Mac Cancels Jazz Fest Appearance, Four Other Shows Postponed

Denise Truscello/Getty Images for iHeartMedia – Fleetwood Mac
John McVie, Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks, Neil Finn, Mick Fleetwood, and Mike Campbell of Fleetwood Mac perform onstage during the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on September 21, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Just days after announcing Fleetwood Mac would step in to play New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival after The Rolling Stones were forced to cancel, Jazz Fest now says Fleetwood Mac will not be performing because of Stevie Nicks’ illness

“Due to the illness of Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac has just announced the postponement of four upcoming North American tour dates and their performance at Jazz Fest on May 2. Stay tuned for updates about May 2 talent and tickets,” the festival tweeted April 8.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Due to the illness of Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac has just announced the postponement of four upcoming North American tour dates and their performance at Jazz Fest on May 2. Stay tuned for updates about May 2 talent and tickets.</p>— New Orleans JazzFest (@jazzfest) <a href=”https://twitter.com/jazzfest/status/1115295449710243846?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 8, 2019</a></blockquote><script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

Fleetwood Mac was forced to postpone the four remaining dates on its tour, saying that Nicks was suffering from the flu.

“While she is feeling better already, management has consulted with her doctors and have decided to reschedule the remaining four shows of their North American tour to allow for her full recovery,” the band said in a statement.

“We are having more fun than ever on this current tour, but as we all know, touring life comes with its challenges,” Mick Fleetwood added in a statement. “The flu has sidelined Stevie for a couple of weeks, but she is on the mend and we look forward to getting back out on the road. We so apologize to the fans, but we are working on rescheduling.”

PREVIOUSLY

Fleetwood Mac has joined New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival’s May 2 lineup, in the stead of The Rolling Stones, days after the Stones were forced to cancel its headlining gig that was a cornerstone of the event’s 50th anniversary celebration.

It’s a heroic move for the Mac, filling the slot with less than one month’s notice and in the midst of its own global tour – and shortly after frontwoman Stevie Nicks was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for her solo career.

It’s a great get by organizer Quint Davis and his team, as well. Despite the departure of Lindsey Buckingham from the band in a dispute last year, Fleetwood Mac’s drawing power hasn’t diminished with the addition of guitarists Neil Finn of Crowded House and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. The Mac’s current tour is No. 8 among Pollstar’s Worldwide Top 100 Tours in the first quarter of 2018 with 177,546 reported tickets sold for a gross of $25,542,799.

The Rolling Stones were forced to cancel the date when Mick Jagger was told he needed heart valve replacement surgery. While the rest of the Stones’ tour was postponed, the Jazz Fest date is one that could not be rescheduled.

Organizers had added the May 2 date to the traditional two-weekend calendar with a separate ticket required for entry and all other stages on the New Orleans Fair Grounds festival site going dark during The Rolling Stones’ set time.

With Fleetwood Mac now taking the Acura main stage, a full day’s schedule will be presented on all music stages and ticketholders are encouraged to check the fest’s website for an updated schedule of artists including Tom Jones, Ziggy Marley, Mavis Staples, Regina Carter’s Southern Comfort and the rest of the roster of Louisiana’s finest local talent.

Tickets for May 2 are still available and may be purchased for $75 through April 19 through the Jazz Fest website and Ticketmaster, plus service fees and handling charges, as well as in person at the Smoothie King Center box office.