Mudvayne fans hoping to see the band at one of four highly anticipated reunion shows this fall will have to wait a bit longer: the band has been forced to drop off the upcoming Louder Than Life festival, scheduled to be held this weekend in Louisville, KY, because frontman Chad Gray has tested positive for Covid-19.
In a statement to social media, the band informed fans of Gray’s status and indicated that “a few staff members” had also tested positive, resulting in the cancelation. They did not reveal whether any of those infected were vaccinated.
The band performed their first show in 12 years on September 11 at the Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival in Mansfield, OH (watch footage here). They are still scheduled to appear at Aftershock in Sacramento on Saturday, October 9 and at Welcome to Rockville on November 14 in Daytona Beach, FL.
The band’s announcement reads in full:
“After taking every precaution to follow CDC Covid protocols during rehearsals and recent performance Chad Gray and a few staff members have unfortunately tested positive for Covid-19. The safety of our organization, fans and festival partners must come first. We are left no choice but to cancel our performance at Louder Than Life this weekend. Apologies to all the fans attending the festival this weekend. We look forward to getting everyone healthy and ready for our Aftershock and Welcome To Rockville performances later this year. We appreciate your love & support throughout these unprecedented times.”
This is a major bummer to Mudvayne fans banking on seeing the band at Louder Than Life, especially if the infections were among unvaccinated individuals and due to general carelessness (though it’s not clear either was the case). We certainly wish Mr. Gray a speedy recovery through the disease and hope he can get back up on stage ASAP.