Mammoth WVH have canceled the remainder of their Young Guns US tour with fellow rockers Dirty Honey, following members of their touring crew testing positive for Covid.
Six dates in total have been canceled, including last night's show at The Ritz in Raleigh, NC. Other affected dates include April 6 in Charlotte, NC; April 8 in Nashville, TN; April 9 in Dothan, AL; and April 10 and 12 in Orlando, Florida.
Despite Mammoth WVH's cancelation of their shows, Dirty Honey will still perform as scheduled on these dates. For fans who bought tickets chiefly to see Mammoth WVH, refunds are available at point of purchase.
“After an incredible weekend in Las Vegas with my family for the Grammys, I flew back yesterday to meet up with my band and crew in North Carolina to continue the Young Guns tour,” says Mammoth WVH leader Wolfgang Van Halen.
“This morning as everyone took Covid tests to re-establish the bubble that has served us on the tour, we came to find that members of our band and crew who didn't travel with me were positive.
“I have tested negative via rapid and PCR tests for the last five days in preparation for the Grammys and still continue to do so. With only six shows left in the tour, it breaks my heart that we unfortunately won't be able to continue. Mammoth WVH will do our very best to make up the dates that we missed to the fans in those markets in the future.”
This is the second hiccup the Young Guns tour has faced due to the Covid pandemic. Due to the surge of the Omicron variant late last year and early this year, the originally scheduled run was postponed by a month.
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Notable highlights of the tour have included Wolfgang Van Halen's solo acoustic version of Distance in Sayreville, NJ – which he performed after guitarist Jon Jourdan was unavailable for the show – and the debut of an unreleased song, I Don't Know It All during the opening night in Denver, Colorado on February 20.
The band have also performed a tribute version of Foo Fighters' My Hero nightly since the passing of Taylor Hawkins on March 26.
But perhaps the biggest moment for guitar lovers was when Wolfgang debuted a prototype semi-hollow EVH guitar for a cover of Alice in Chains' Them Bones, and proceeded to nail the solo note for note despite his strap falling off mid-song. The guitar has since been dubbed the SA-126, named in honor of Eddie Van Halen's birthday.
Mammoth WVH are set to hit the road again later this month, supporting Halestorm on select dates. Commencing April 29 at the Pima County Fair in Tucson, AZ, the trek will make stops in Casper, Wichita, Charleston and more, before wrapping up at Pointfest in Maryland Heights, MO on May 21.
- April 29 - Tucson, AZ - Pima County Fair
- May 10 - Billings, MT - MetraPark Arena *
- May 11 - Casper, WY - Ford Wyoming Center *
- May 13 - Council Bluffs, IA - Stir Cove *
- May 14 - Wichita, KS - The Wave *
- May 15 - Springfield, MO - Gilloz Theatre
- May 17 - Chattanooga, TN - The Signal
- May 18 - Charleston, SC - Music Farm
- May 19 - Daytona Beach, FL - Welcome To Rockville
- May 21 - Maryland Heights, MO - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Pointfest
* supporting Halestorm
Last year, Wolfgang Van Halen detailed the recording of the band's self-titled debut in an interview with Total Guitar, explaining why it was important for him to carve his own musical path independent of his late father, Eddie Van Halen.
“I’m just not milking off the legacy,” he said. “I’m sure that’s up for debate for some people that hate me, but I’m being myself. I’m not sitting there doing covers of Panama and going, ‘If you want Van Halen, come to me!’ If you want Van Halen, go over there.”
