JR JR cancels upcoming 10th anniversary concerts, citing health concerns

Detroit indie pop act JR JR has canceled its upcoming 10th anniversary concert at Ferndale's Magic Bag, citing the recent uptick in the delta variant cases of coronavirus. 

"This is about the least fun message we could have to deliver this week but with the recent developments related to the delta variant in the US we feel the situation around live concerts (especially indoors) is once again feeling too unpredictable for us to move forward with our scheduled August shows," the group wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

"As such, we've made the difficult decision to cancel the Detroit, Chicago, NYC and DC 10th anniversary shows which we had scheduled this month." 

The duo, made up of Joshua Epstein and Daniel Zott, announced the shows earlier this summer as indoor music venues began booking concerts once again. The Magic Bag show was set to take place on Aug. 13.  

"We had an idealized view that these might be joyous returns to seeing live music for many, and to performing for us," the group wrote. "However, the vibe has certainly shifted in recent weeks with a number of people expressing various levels of discomfort about attending indoor shows and we don't want to ignore that this might not be the right time to celebrate." 

JR JR — known as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. when the group released its debut album "It's a Corporate World" in June 2011 — had planned to model the upcoming run of shows after the group's early concerts.  

"We're going to recreate the magic in full, as it feels like everyone could use a cathartic party right now," the group said when announcing the shows in June. 

Ticketholders will be receiving emails regarding refunds, according to the group.  

JR JR's most recent album, "Invocations / Conversations," was released in 2019. 

agraham@detroitnews.com

@grahamorama