Nikki Sixx Says He’s Happy Motley Crue Aren’t Touring During the Pandemic
Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx shared a message this week conveying contentment that the band decided not to tour in 2021, putting off their anticipated Stadium Tour another year due to the COVID-19 pandemic after the trek alongside Def Leppard and others missed its original start in 2020.
The bassist's joy comes from avoiding a very plausible scenario where he and other Motley Crue members, crew or concertgoers could've contracted the novel coronavirus or its variants this summer, thereby necessitating last-minute rearrangements and possible further postponed shows — not to mention the impacts on the health of those involved.
Similar situations are already happening with several rock acts — among them, Korn this week rescheduled several concerts after singer Jonathan Davis got COVID; Buckcherry in July canceled gigs after two of their musicians tested positive for it. So it makes sense that Motley Crue might feel some relief about their delay.
"I'm so happy we decided to not tour during this pandemic," Sixx said in an Instagram post on Wednesday (Aug 18). "100 percent."
He added, "Not a hard decision to make when so many people's lives are at risk," before concluding in all caps, "I MISS IT 'REALLY' BAD AND CAN'T WAIT TO HIT THE ROAD IN 2022."
As artists scramble to resume performing live after a largely concert-less 2020, promoters such as AEG Presents and Live Nation are require proof of vaccination or a recent negative test from attendees, mirroring what many other businesses demand.
Meanwhile, some performers are revolting against such dictates — both Eric Clapton and Madball refused to do vaccination-required gigs. Still, within the last two weeks, Korn's Davis, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, Sebastian Bach and guitarists for Tesla and Lynyrd Skynyrd revealed they've tested positive for COVID.
Vaccination efforts continue as 51 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated as of Aug. 19 and more easily transmissible variants of the disease have emerged. The CDC now recommends fully vaccinated people wear masks in most indoor settings.
Get tickets to Motley Crue's 2022 tour here.