Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Rickey Medlocke Returns After COVID-19 Recovery
Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Rickey Medlocke, who recently recovered from COVID-19, rejoined his bandmates at the Barefoot Country Music Festival concert in Wildwood, N.J., last night.
"Here I am, rounded the corner," Medlocke said in a video message posted to Instagram a few days before the concert. He also thanked the medical staff that helped him recover. "I'm back, feeling good. And you know what? I feel very blessed and very fortunate to be sitting here today."
You can watch fan-filmed footage of last night's concert below.
Lynyrd Skynyrd faced another unexpected lineup change when longtime guitarist Gary Rossington underwent emergency heart surgery last month. “Music is a powerful healer!" the band wrote on Facebook at the time, noting its decision to continue the tour without him. "We all felt playing the shows and bringing the music to y’all was a better option than canceling the performances."
But when Medlocke tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks later, it forced the band to cancel a string of four shows. (Rossington has yet to return to the road but is expected to fully recover. In the meantime, the band recruited Damon Johnson as a temporary replacement for its Big Wheels Keep on Turnin’ tour.)
Other groups have faced similar issues: Foo Fighters and Mammoth WVH both recently postponed or canceled performances after members of their teams tested positive for COVID-19.
Lynyrd Skynyrd are expected to continue their North American tour through fall 2021. "I'm going to kick out the footlights this weekend in New Jersey," Medlocke noted in his video message. "Really be safe and take care of yourself, 'cause it's not fun."