Kid Rock: ‘I won’t be showing up either’ if 2022 tour venues require vaccinations

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Kid Rock, whose 2022 concert tour starts in Evansville in April and visits Noblesville in August, says he will cancel performances at venues that require vaccinations.

The 51-year-old singer, songwriter and rapper from Michigan — his actual name is Robert James Ritchie — says in a Facebook video that if any venue requires vaccinations, fans don’t have to worry about it.

“I won’t be showing up either,” he said in the obscenity-laden video.

He said he’s already canceled shows in Buffalo, New York, and Toronto, Canada, as a result of vaccination requirements.

The Evansville show will be April 6 at the Ford Center. He returns to Indiana on Aug. 12 at Ruoff Music Center north of Indianapolis.

The Ruoff outdoor amphitheater can hold more than 24,000 concert-goers. A “health check” on the Live Nation’s ticket website for the Noblesville venue says, “The Event Organizer is requiring Health Checks to attend this event. Please check their website for details.”

Ruoff’s website says the venue currently requires proof of a negative COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of the event, or a full COVID-19 vaccination two weeks before the show along with a printed copy of a negative test result or vaccination, or the original vaccination card. However, the website also says venue protocols on testing and vaccination are subject to change, so check again prior to the show date.

At Evansville’s Ford Center, no COVID test or proof of vaccination is required. Face masks are optional in the indoor venue, which can hold 10,000 people.

Kid Rock canceled two shows in August in Fort Worth, Texas, after an outbreak of the coronavirus in his band, CNN reported.