Dan + Shay Forced to Cancel Tour Dates After Member of Touring Party Tests Positive for COVID

The country duo said they were "super bummed" to have to cancel dates in Orlando and Atlanta, and reschedule a show in Hollywood, Florida

2020 AMC's
Dan + Shay. Photo: Getty Images

Country duo Dan + Shay have been forced to cancel a pair of tour dates and reschedule another after a member of their "immediate touring party" tested positive for COVID-19.

The country duo, comprised of Dan Smyers, 34, and Shay Mooney, 29, announced the setback to their Dan + Shay: The (Arena) Tour on Tuesday, prefacing it by saying they had "some good news + some bad news."

"The bad news first: a member of our immediate touring party has tested positive for covid-19 and to protect the safety of our fans and everyone around us, we will sadly have to cancel the upcoming dates in Orlando and Atlanta," the pair said in a statement, adding a broken heart emoji.

The "Speechless" singers were scheduled to play on Thursday at Orlando's Amway Center, and Friday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. An upcoming show at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida was rescheduled for April 21.

Their tour began in March 2020, but was postponed due to COVID after a handful of shows. It picked back up again this past July, and is scheduled to run through December.

"Due to routing conflicts and previously confirmed 2022 dates, we were unable to re-book Orlando and Atlanta," the statement said. "We know a lot of y'all have traveled or plan to travel for these shows, and it breaks our hearts to let you down. Yes, we're super bummed, but in trying to find some positivity on a difficult day, that brings us to the good news."

To kick off the good news, the duo announced they would be touring stadiums with Kenny Chesney in 2022 — and also teased "some Christmas surprises."

The first of those surprises was revealed on Wednesday morning, when Dan + Shay released a new single with Amazon Music called "Pick Out a Christmas Tree."

In a behind-the-scenes clip shared exclusively with PEOPLE, the duo talked about the process of writing and recording the song.

"Writing an original Christmas song is always difficult because there are so many good Christmas songs that already exist and like certain buzz words — and you feel like everything's already been said," Smyers said in the clip. "One day we sat down to write it and it sort of poured out of us. It's just the soundtrack for folks going out [with] families, friends, going to a Christmas tree farm or going to a store down the street and picking out Christmas trees — so that's how this song came about."

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