Indie pop act Tennis was gearing up to play the Beacham this Saturday, Oct. 23. But due to Florida laws prohibiting safety measures like asking for proof of vaccination and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ early termination of mask mandates on the local level, the band cancelled their Orlando date.
“ORLANDO – so sorry but we’ve been forced to cancel our show,” the band wrote on Twitter. “Florida state law prohibits us from taking necessary measures to protect the health of our band / crew and all of you. We hope you understand, we’ll be back as soon as we can.”
Tennis is merely the latest act to pull out of Florida over concerns about COVID-19 safety. Rebel Rock Orlando had to cancel their entire festival following a stream of headliner dropouts. Actress Billie Piper pulled out of Orlando’s MegaCon for similar reasons. Patton Oswalt dropped all of his Florida dates for fear of coronavirus after venues were unable to enforce precautions.
“This difficult decision was made due to the rising numbers of COVID cases and also because I have an ego, but my ego is not big enough to think that people should die to hear my stupid comedy,” Oswalt explained on Instagram.
That fear is far from unfounded. Comedian/podcaster Joe Rogan and classic rock shitstain Ted Nugent have both contracted coronavirus after playing dates in Florida.
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This article appears in Oct 13-19, 2021.