The flu epidemic sweeping the country caught one of country music's greatest icons. Willie Nelson is cancelling his February shows due to the sickness, according to a press release.
The cancellation is concerning for fans of the 84-year-old legend. In January, he ended a San Diego show early and scrapped the rest of the dates that month due to a breathing issue.
However, Nelson's publicist says he's in good health outside of the bug sweeping the nation. Doctors put Nelson on vocal rest and ordered several extra weeks off the road to cover from this particularly nasty strain of the flu. In the release, Nelson tells his fans, "I will see you all down the road."
All in all, Nelson scrapped eight dates in order to recover. Those include six shows in Florida, stretching from February 10-18. Nelson's tour schedule lately endured several hiccups. Between respiratory issues and other illness, Nelson had to move around shows regularly over the past year.
But that hasn't stopped the American icon from releasing new music. Nelson released new album God's Problem Child back in April 2017. He then recorded a special album with his sons Lukas and Michah.
Dubbed Willies Stash, Vol. 2: Willie Nelson And The Boys, the album features first-ever collaborations between Nelson and his sons. They perform Nelson classics as well as other classic country songs.
Nelson is hardly the first person to fall victim to the flu this year. In fact, the United States officially entered a flu epidemic. Sadly, 53 children have already passed away due to the flu. About half of them had no underlying conditions. So the extra weeks of rest make perfect sense for Nelson.
Nelson is scheduled to resume performing on March 5 in Greenville, S.C.
