Willie Nelson Cancels Shows to Recover From Cold or Flu

Willie Nelson canceled shows in Florida and Nevada and after ending a Southern California performance Saturday after part of only one song.

Nelson left the stage at Harrah’s Resort SoCal Saturday just after the first song, “Whiskey River,” started. He was coughing and having difficulty breathing as he exited the stage, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. 

Nelson returned home to Texas in order to recuperate from “a bad cold or the flu,” according to his publicist, the Union-Tribune reported.

Four more scheduled shows — Monday in Palm Springs, California; Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday in Las Vegas; and Sunday at the Edgewater Hotel Casino in Laughlin, Nevada, also are canceled.

Nelson stopped a concert in August in Salt Lake City, Utah, as a result of respiratory issues that landed him briefly in the hospital. He posted on Twitter after halting that show, “The altitude got to me. I am feeling better now and headed for lower ground.”

Several shows also were canceled in January and February of 2017 because of a "bad cold," with Nelson's publicist correcting reports that he was "deathly ill," saying he was “perfectly fine,” Entertainment Weekly reported. 

The 84-year-old’s next scheduled show after the ones canceled this week is a Feb. 7 show in Georgia.

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