The much-ballyhooed return of Michael McDonald to the Doobie Brothers after 26 years got short-circuited Tuesday due to what a band member indicated was a case of COVID-19.
The Minnesota State Fair announced late Tuesday afternoon that McDonald would not perform Tuesday evening but the rest of the Doobies would.
The opening act, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, also canceled. The fair did not offer an explanation for the change in the lineup.
After the second song on Tuesday night, co-founder Patrick Simmons, a singer/guitarist, said McDonald was not feeling well.
"He's recuperating and isolating. We hope to have him back in a week or so," he said, adding that it's what's happening these days.
"He's had his vaccine," Simmons said. "But the show must go on."
The Doobies entourage is traveling with a COVID compliance officer. All the band members and crew are vaccinated, co-founder Tom Johnston, also a singer/guitarist, told the Star Tribune last week.
"If you weren't singing [in rehearsals], you had to have a mask on. Everybody in the crew has to have a mask on," he said.
