CANTON, Ohio — The big wheels have gone off the rails for Lynyrd Skynyrd -- at least for a while.
The Southern rock ‘n’ roll band announced it is pulling out of Monday’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Concert for Legends after guitarist Rickey Medlocke tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The band had been scheduled to headline the event with country music star Brad Paisley at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, the newspaper reported.
“Longtime band member Rickey Medlocke has tested positive for COVID-19,” the band said in a statement on Saturday. “Rickey is home resting and responding well to treatment. We will continue to update you on his condition.”
Medlocke’s positive test caused the band to cancel upcoming shows in Jackson, Michigan; Atlanta; and Cullman, Alabama. The Aug. 13 show in Atlanta was rescheduled for Oct. 23, The Associated Press reported.
Medlocke, 71, has been with the Jacksonville, Florida-based band since 1996. The Jacksonville native started with the group as a session player in 1971 but left to join another Southern rock band, Blackfoot, in 1972.
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Jimmie Allen, who is set to be the opening act for the Canton show, agreed to extend his song list and play a full set, according to the Plain Dealer.
It is another setback for the band, which opened its Big Wheels Keep On Turnin’ Tour on June 13.
In late July, the band was forced to play a date in North Dakota without guitarist Gary Rossington. The only surviving original member of the band, Rossington, 69, had emergency heart surgery.
Fans who purchased tickets for the Canton show can request a refund online, the Plain Dealer reported. The deadline to make a request is 6 p.m. EDT on Monday, the newspaper reported.
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