Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor said he is sick with an apparent breakthrough case of COVID-19, causing the Grammy-winning singer to abruptly cancel plans to appear in Michigan this weekend.
“I woke up today and tested positive, and I’m very, very sick,” Mr. Taylor said in a video released Friday by Astronomicon, a convention in Ann Arbor where he had been set to appear Saturday and Sunday.
Mr. Taylor, 41, sounded noticeably raspy in the video and suggested he was experiencing flu-like symptoms.
“I’m vaccinated, so I’m not worried. But I certainly wouldn’t want to spread it to anyone else. So, everybody be safe out there. And thank you so much. And I will see you again, I promise,” he said.
Astronomicon, a three-day pop-culture convention, shared the short video on Facebook with a message wishing the singer a speedy recovery and urging attendees to remain vigilant and masked this weekend.
“Maintaining everyone’s health and safety is paramount in these times. COVID is no joke and can effect [sic] anyone, even those who have been vaccinated. Sadly, this includes celebrities,” said the message.
Vaccines have proven very effective at preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, while symptomatic infections among the vaccinated are rare but occur.
More than 170 million Americans – 51.3% of the U.S. population – are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Mr. Taylor, who earned a Grammy award in 2006 for his work fronting Slipknot, had originally been set to participate in a panel discussion at the convention Saturday and for photo-ops with fans both days.
A solo artist as well, Mr. Taylor just performed a multi-state tour in support of his 2020 album, “CMFT,” which ended Thursday in Denver, Colorado, less than 24 hours before he withdrew from Astronomicon.
The tour included a show in South Dakota at the Sturgis Bike Rally on Aug. 11. More than a half-million motorcyclists are reported to have attended the rally this year, raising concerns about it potentially becoming a so-called “super-spreader” event where multiple people contract COVID-19. Mr. Taylor did not specify when or where he became ill.
Slipknot, a heavy metal group Mr. Taylor formed in Iowa in 1995, is currently slated to perform as soon as Sept. 3 at the Rocklahoma festival in Oklahoma. Several other dates are scheduled after that.
