HARTFORD, Conn. — Neil Young has pulled out of the Farm Aid benefit concert that is scheduled in Hartford on Sept. 25, Young announced on his official site on Wednesday. Young is one of several artists to cancel or postpone national concert dates as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Young announced on neilyoungarchives.com, “Lots is going on in our world right now. I find myself wondering whether Farm Aid will be safe for everyone with the COVID pandemic surging. 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. The show is sold out.
“All you people who can’t go to a concert because you still don’t feel safe, I stand with you. I don’t want you to see me playing and think it’s safe now. I don’t want to play until you feel safe, and it is indeed, safe. My soul tells me it would be wrong to risk having anyone die because they wanted to hear music and be with friends.”
The remaining five headliners in the show, which will be at the Xfinity Theatre, are Willie Nelson & Family, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds and Margo Price.
Young continued: “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.”
The Farm Aid organization helps family farms and educates people about the need for local agriculture.
Young is the latest of several superstar entertainers to pull out of upcoming autumn shows as a result of the health crisis, which has seen a recent spike in infections and hospitalizations attributed to the highly contagious delta variant.
This week, Garth Brooks canceled five stadium dates — in Tennessee, Ohio, North Carolina, Maryland and Massachusetts — citing public health concerns.
Korn postponed its Aug. 20 stop in Hartford to Oct. 2 after singer Jonathan Davis tested positive for COVID-19. Lynyrd Skynyrd pulled out of four shows and postponed one more after guitarist Rickey Medlocke tested positive.
Limp Bizkit canceled remaining tour dates of its ironically titled “Limited Last Minute Post Pandemic Popup Party Edition.”
Other performers whose concerts have been axed or delayed by the delta variant surge are Stevie Nicks, Taylor Swift, Michael Buble, Rage Against the Machine and Roger Waters.
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