RICHMOND, Va. -- The Infamous Stringdusters announced that the band was canceling its three-night New Year's Eve run at The National in Richmond amid concerns about rising cases of the Omicron variant of COVID 19. The award-winning bluegrass band said it would reschedule the three concerts for the same dates in 2022.
Health officials at the University of Virginia said they expected a potential post-holiday surge of COVID-19 cases in Central Virginia.
Costi Sifri is head of epidemiology at the UVa Medical Center.
He told The Daily Progress in Charlottesville that he anticipated a steep rise in cases from the Omicron variant.
The variant is driving a surge in cases across the country and it appears to be even more contagious than the Delta strain.
The Stringdusters joined a number of other bands around the country that made the decision to cancel New Year's Eve concerts.
Phish usually plays a New Year's Eve gig at Madison Square Garden, but that won't happen this year - because of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in New York. Other bands that canceled shows include My Morning Jacket (Denver), The Strokes (Brooklyn), Umphrey's McGee (New York and Miami), and Spafford (New York, Philadelphia).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
