The Strokes, Phish, MMJ, And More Cancel & Postpone New Year’s Shows Due To Omicron
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
You know the story by now. There were a whole lot of would-be triumphant shows planned for the end of the year in New York City. LCD soundsystem were tearing through a 20-night residency at Brooklyn Steel, intended to keep going even as COVID news worsened, and then eventually had to cancel the final few shows as the surge spiked in dramatic and sudden fashion around the city. There were some other major events looking to say goodbye to 2021 and ring in 2022, but those won’t be happening anymore either.
First off, the Strokes were set to headline Barclays Center on New Year’s Eve. Given the size of that room — and the general state of things — it’s no surprise the show has been postponed as the city reckons with Omicron surge. Here’s what the band wrote:
How can we put this….
We’re postponing the show.
We were so excited to be performing for everyone in Brooklyn this New Year’s Eve, but the Omicron variant has thwarted our plans. We’ve made the decision to postpone our show at Barclays Center.
All tickets will be honored for the rescheduled date and details regarding refunds will be offered when the new date is announced.
We want everyone to stay safe and healthy and we look forward to celebrating the new year with all of you … just a bit later than originally planned.
Phish have a long-standing tradition of New Year’s shows. They were supposed to have a New Year’s run at Madison Square Garden — another very large venue, another event that is unsurprisingly not going to be able to go forward thanks to Omicron. These shows already have new dates set in late April. Here’s what Phish wrote on their site:
With the Omicron variant of Covid-19 surging in New York City, we have made the very difficult decision to reschedule next week’s run of shows at Madison Square Garden.
The health and safety of Phish fans, our crew, and venue staff is paramount in our minds. While Phish has played shows this year as the pandemic has continued, this variant’s ability for rapid transmission is unprecedented.
We are also mindful that a significant number of people travel for these shows and then return to their communities, and we want to avoid accelerating transmission of the virus. Finally, even with the strictest of tour Covid protocols, the prolonged exposure of a four-night indoor run (plus the days of preparation and travel) to critical crew and staff considerably increases the possibility of having to shut the shows down once they’ve started.
We’re fortunate to have found a four-night window in The Garden’s schedule, and the shows will now take place April 20-23, 2022, including a three-set show (as originally planned for New Year’s Eve) on April 22.
Ticket holders can request a refund anytime over the next 30 days, beginning today, if they cannot commit to the rescheduled show date. If a refund is not requested during the allotted time, tickets will be valid for the new show date. Please note: If you purchased from an authorized ticket sales channel (Ticketmaster, Phish Tickets, CID or venue website) these ticketing partners will be contacting all buyers shortly with further instructions.
Thank you all for your understanding. Stay healthy and safe, take care of each other out there and please get vaccinated and boosted if you haven’t already.
UPDATE:
Yo La Tengo, who were supposed to play a New Year’s show at Manhattan’s City Winery, have also called it off:
Meanwhile, cancellations are starting to hit in other parts of the country. My Morning Jacket’s New Year’s run in Denver is also no longer going forward:
