MIAMI — A positive test for COVID-19 forced rocker Jon Bon Jovi to cancel his Miami Beach show Saturday night as crowds were already beginning to fill the South Beach venue.
Audience members were told that Bon Jovi would be unable to perform, WSVN 7 News reported, and that the whole band had been given rapid tests before the show.
A WSVN reporter captured the musician leaving the Loewes Miami Beach hotel on Collins Avenue in a yellow Maserati just before 7 p.m.
A spokesperson for Bon Jovi did not return requests for comment regarding the details of his test, his vaccination stats and whether future appearances were being canceled.
One concertgoer, sports commentator Maria Garcia-Mella Cid, posted on Instagram that a new date was scheduled, and that a DJ put on a show for attendees.
“We made the most of it despite the major disappointment,” she wrote. “When life gives you lemons ... ask for tequila and salt!”
The show was part of a three-day Halloween weekend experience put on by Runaway Tours, which included an “intimate” acoustic show and Q&A with Bon Jovi, photo with the rock star and a costume party. Tickets started at $1,650.
According to the event website, all ticketholders were required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test taken no more than 72 hours before the event.
A spokesperson for Runaway Tours did not return requests for comment regarding refunds for ticketholders.
This isn’t the first time Bon Jovi has been affected by the coronavirus.
In March 2020, Bon Jovi keyboardist David Bryan posted on his Instagram that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Later that month, Bon Jovi told Entertainment Tonight that he believed his teenage son had COVID-19, but was never tested due to the shortage of testing in the early days of the pandemic.
