Say it isn't so! My Morning Jacket cancels Louisville concerts after positive COVID test

Grammy-nominated indie rock band My Morning Jacket, which was scheduled to perform a sold-out concert at Iroquois Amphitheatre on Friday and a second show at Louisville's Waterfront Park on Saturday, has announced that both concerts have been canceled after the band's lead singer tested positive for the coronavirus.

The two shows would have been the Louisville-bred band's first hometown concerts in six years. In a Twitter post Thursday afternoon, MMJ announced lead singer Jim James "has tested positive for COVID. We regretfully have to cancel our Friday and Saturday hometown shows."

Ticket holders for the Iroquois and Waterfront concerts will receive refunds available through the point of purchase, according to the post. The band said it hopes to rebook these Louisville concerts in the future, but no further information is available at this time.

During an interview with the Courier Journal a couple weeks ago, My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan expressed excitement about the two upcoming hometown concerts and the opportunity to share the stage at Waterfront Park with his 10-year-old daughter Flora, a member of the Louisville Leopard Percussionists.

"The hometown shows are always the heaviest of the shows and I say that because it means so much more to play for all your family and friends," Hallahan told The Courier Journal. "It's everyone who has known you throughout the course of your life. You can't hide behind a costume or a spotlight, they know all of you and combine that with a parental moment with my daughter, I cannot wait to play."

Previous coverage: My Morning Jacket's return to Louisville will include a rare father-daughter performance

Hallahan previously said the entire band, which includes lead vocalist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, guitarist Carl Broemel and keyboardist Bo Koster, put a lot of thought into their back-to-back concerts and had curated a line up of local musicians and nonprofits to benefit from the shows.

Friday's concert at Iroquois Amphitheater was to have opened with Kiana and the Sun Kings and River City Drum Corp. The show was to benefit Change Today, Change Tomorrow, a Louisville-based nonprofit working to fight racial injustice.

The Louisville Leopard Percussionists and Producing a Kind Generation were set to open the Waterfront Park performance.

Reach Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com or Twitter @kirbylouisville. 

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville music: My Morning Jacket cancels both Louisville shows