Neil Young Drops Out Of Farm Aid; Nine Inch Nails, Jason Isbell And Yola Cite COVID Concerns In Canceling Appearances

Young will no longer appear at the sold-out 2021 Farm Aid, of which he is a board member, citing COVID-19 concerns. The 36th annual concert is to take place Sept. 25 at Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, Conn. Remaining on the bill are fellow board members Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews, among others. 

“I find myself wondering whether Farmaid will be safe for everyone with the Covid pandemic surging,” Young wrote on his Neil Young Archives website. “I worry about that. I don’t want to let anybody down, but still can’t shake the feeling that it might not be safe for everyone. I worry about audiences coming together in these times.”

He acknowledges his fellow Farm Aid board members, saying, “While I respect Willie, John and Dave’s decisions to stick with it and play, I am not of the same mind. It is a tough call.”

Nine Inch Nails also took to its website to announce it was cancelling all scheduled appearances, including two shows in Cleveland, Ohio, and festival appearances at Riot Fest, Louder Than Life and Welcome To Rockville. Riot Fest organizers posted on Twitter that with NIN out, Morrissey will now headline Thurdsay, Sept. 16, joined by a “curated lineup with very special guests.” Slipknot will now close out Sunday, Sept. 19.

“It is with great regret that we are canceling all NIN appearances for the remainder of this year,” the Trent Reznor-fronted band posted. “When originally planned, these shows were intended to be a cathartic and celebratory return to live music. However, with each passing day it’s becoming more apparent we’re not at that place yet.

“We are sorry for any inconvenience or disappointment and look forward to seeing you again when the time is right.”

Yola joined Isbell, who previously announced he will not perform at venues without a strict vaccination or negative COVID test policy, in dropping out of the Sept. 11-12 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, at which he was a headliner. 

Isbell took to Twitter Aug. 18 and wrote, “We won’t be appearing at the Rhythm and Roots Reunion this year. Y’all be safe!” and attached a news item from WJHL-TV that included a statement from the Bristol, Tenn. festival.  

Isbell’s manager, Traci Thomas, confirmed the cancellation to the Bristol Herald-Courier, saying, “”No sir, we will not be performing,” Thomas said when asked whether Isbell planned to perform. “The festival board is unwilling to make the festival safe by enabling our COVID protocols.” 

The next day, Yola followed suit with a Twitter statement of her own. “The priority of our team is to keep Yola, her band and crew as safe as possible. We are not satisfied that the most stringent COVID safety best practices are currently in place for Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, and therefore we have made the difficult decision that Yola will no longer be performing at the event.”

For its part, Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion officials issued a statement, reported by WJHL-TV and retweeted by Isbell that reads: “The Birthplace of Country Music (BCM) has had numerous conversations with our local, regional and state leaders to assess options available to us concerning the requirement by one of our artists for our patrons to either provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test within 72 hours of attending the festival.”