Foo Fighters Postpone Forum Reopening As Team Member Tests Positive For COVID

Foo Fighters
Danny Clinch – Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters’ planned July 17 reopening of the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., has been postponed “out of an abundance of caution” after an unidentified team member’s positive test for COVID-19, according to social media posts by the band July 14. The show will be rescheduled.
“Despite having made every effort to follow CDC Covid protocols and local laws, there has been a confirmed Covid-19 case within the Foo Fighters organization,” the band posted to Twitter and Instagram. “Out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the band, crew and most of all the fans, Saturday’s show at the Los Angeles Forum is being postponed to a later date. The new date will be announced shortly. Tickets for the July 17th date will be honored for the new date.”
Pollstar reached out to the Foos’ team but did not immediately hear back. 

The postponement does not affect Foo Fighters’ other scheduled shows, however, beginning with a July 28 concert at the Andrew J. Brady Icon Music Center in Cincinnati, followed by a July 30 appearance at Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Aug. 1 at Lollapalooza in Chicago. 

More shows follow through August and September. 

The news is obviously disappointing for California’s reopening plan for concerts and other large events, as the state is one of many that have recently reported upticks in COVID infections reported to be driven by the Delta variant, considered much more transmissible than previous iterations of the coronavirus that locked down much of the country since March, 2020.

And it’s certainly disappointing for Dave Grohl and Co., who have been among music’s biggest cheerleaders for a safe comeback to full capacity shows. 

Among their post-lockdown debuts are the reopening of Madison Square Garden Arena in New York City June 20, opening the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., at Global Citizen’s “Vax Live” concert, taped for a TV special May 2, and a literal California “opening day” warmup show at The Canyon Club, a 610-cap club in Agoura Hills, June 15.

Fans were ready for those shows, too, quickly selling out all three. Most notably, the Madison Square Garden show, the first large-scale event in the city since March 2020, sold out all 15,371 tickets for a gross of $1,401,255. The Vax Live show was a special event for frontline health care workers, and the show at The Canyon Club was widely reported to be sold out, though no official report has been submitted to Pollstar.

Fans to all three of those shows were required to present proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test from within the prior 72 hours. And Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl made no secret of his joy to be back on stage at MSG.
“For the last year, I had this recurring dream that I would walk onstage and we would look at each other for the first time and it would take a couple minutes and we’d just look at each other like, ‘Thank god we got through this,’ Grohl told the audience. “I walked out onstage tonight and it was just like that fucking dream. So thank you very much everybody for making my dream come true tonight.”
Obviously not a decision that was made lightly, Foo Fighters’ Forum postponement is seen by at least some in the industry as only a temporary setback or “hiccup” as business roars back. 

California has experienced a resurgence of the virus, with reported COVID-19 cases spiking 174.7% in the two weeks ended July 15, according to the Los Angeles Times. The state fully reopened and restrictions on mask-wearing and social distancing were eased June 15. 

While coronavirus infections are on the rise, the vast majority of new cases – 98% to 99% as reported by the Associated Press – are occurring among those who have not been vaccinated. The AP analyzed figures provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May.

The CDC itself has not estimated what percentage of hospitalizations and deaths are in fully vaccinated people, citing limitations in the data. But continued analysis by other health organizations indicate those figures are remaining constant with more unvaccinated Americans becoming infected.

As breakthrough cases are possible with any vaccine, it’s a reminder that vigilance is still a must when it comes to protecting oneself and others in public, including continued mask-wearing and social distancing in the toolbox along with getting vaccinated.  

Earlier in the day Wednesday Foo Fighters shared some good news with dates set for Foos’ first-ever Alaska performances. The three-show run includes two nights at Dena’ina Center in Anchorage Aug. 17-19 and an Aug. 21 show at the Carlsn Center in Fairbanks. Tickets went on sale July 14.