Garth Brooks has canceled the remaining shows for his 2021 tour due to the coronavirus pandemic amid concerns over the highly contagious Delta variant.

On Wednesday, the country singer released a statement revealing his plans to help stop the pandemic by canceling shows and refunding fans their money.

“In July, I sincerely thought the pandemic was falling behind us,” Brooks said. “Now, watching this new wave, I realize we are still in the fight and I must do my part.”

Fans will automatically receive a refund from Ticketmaster through their original form of payment.

The refunds will apply to around 350,000 tickets that were sold for shows scheduled to take place at football stadiums in Nashville, Tennessee, and Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as in Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Foxborough, Massachusetts.

“I have asked the wonderful cities of Cincinnati and Charlotte to wait too long, and I don’t want to now do that same thing to the great folks in Boston and Baltimore,” Brooks said in the statement.

“As far as Nashville, we are looking for a make up date from the July rain-out, and though this is not COVID-related, to make them wait makes me sad, as well. So, it is with a heavy heart we announce the decision to cancel all five shows but with a hopeful heart, we will reschedule and start over when this wave seems to be behind us.”

Although Brooks was hopeful that he would be able to return to touring before the year is over, he insisted it was more important to keep fans safe rather than perform.

“I’m sincerely hoping we are back on tour before the year’s end,” Brooks said in his statement.

“With that said, the most important thing to me is fulfilling my end of the Stadium Tour by making sure every show is doable before putting tickets on sale (that is why we pulled the Seattle on sale) and making sure the environment these people are trading their time and money to put themselves into is not only the best experience ever but also the safest one we can provide.”

Going forward, Brooks will sell tickets for his shows one at a time, near the concert date rather than months in advance.

Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks dons his finest ten gallon hat during the 2015 CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Getty Images
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