Fans have waited 25 years for Michael McDonald to reunite with The Doobie Brothers. And while a few lucky concert goers got to see them together in August, the rest of us will have to wait a little longer, because as the band has indicated, he’s come down with COVID-19.
McDonald pulled out of the August 31st concert at the Minnesota State Fair, as did the opening act Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The rest of the Doobie Brothers performed as planned, and after the second song, Patrick Simmons provided some insight.
“He’s recuperating and isolating,” he said of McDonald (via the Star Tribune). “We hope to have him back in a week or so.” He added that the singer “had his vaccine.”
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Tom Johnston was quick to point out that the entire band and their touring crew had also been vaccinated and were following strict protocols on the road. “If you weren’t singing, you had to have a mask on. Everybody in the crew has to have a mask on,” he said.
Yet despite all the precautions, the band announced via social media today that the next four shows on their schedule are being pushed back. “The Doobie Brothers will postpone their four upcoming shows as a member of the touring personnel has tested positive with COVID-19. The shows in Clarkston, Burgettstown, Toledo, and Cincinnati will be rescheduled and new dates will be announced shortly,” the rockers’ statement read. Check out the band’s official announcement below.
The Doobie Brothers’ 50th anniversary tour kicked off just two weeks ago after their original 2020 tour plans were shuttered amid the global pandemic. The rescheduled trek is currently slated to continue through June 2022.
In July, the 2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees also opened up about the inception of the 45th anniversary live version of “Takin’ It to the Streets” for Consequence’s Origins series. Two months earlier, McDonald teamed up with Willie Nelson to cover “Dreams of San Joaquin” to benefit RAICES and the United Farm Workers of America.
The Doobie Brothers will postpone their four upcoming shows as a member of the touring personnel has tested positive with COVID-19. The shows in Clarkston, Burgettstown, Toledo, and Cincinnati will be rescheduled and new dates will be announced shortly. pic.twitter.com/hHYgN6ueAi
— The Doobie Brothers (@TheDoobieBros) September 1, 2021
