Rock Legend Rod Stewart, 81, Sparks Major Health Scare After Last Minute Axing of Two Las Vegas Shows — 'He Needs to Retire'
Rod Stewart has sparked fresh health fears after canceling two of his Las Vegas shows at the last minute.
June 1 2026, Published 3:45 p.m. ET
Legendary rocker Rod Stewart has sparked major health fears by canceling two Las Vegas shows at short notice.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the 81-year-old Brit's axed concerts were part of his Sin City residency, The Encore Shows, which takes place at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. They were scheduled for last Friday and Saturday.
Struck Down by 'Sinus Infection'
Stewart was honest with fans regarding the illness which put him out of gigs.
Unfortunately, the singer was struck by an illness, resulting in a last minute pullout.
Stewart said: "I am on vocal rest as I recover from a sinus infection. I look forward to seeing you at a future show at Caesars Palace or on tour this summer," he told the Las Vegas Review Journal.
He is set to perform in Las Vegas until June 6 and then return at the end of August for another stint of shows. His next stop, meanwhile, is Phoenix.
'He Needs to Enjoy the Rest of His Years in Peace'
Unhappy concertgoers claim they did not get much notice.
One user on X said they received the notification that the show had been canceled at 5:48 p.m., less than two hours before the scheduled start time of 7:30.
"Feels like the colosseum is cursed atp (at this point)," another person commented.
A separate user wrote: "He needs to retire and enjoy the rest of his years in peace, anyway tbh."
This is not the first time that Stewart has been forced to cancel shows in recent years for health reasons. Last summer, he also pulled a string of shows at Caesars Palace in Vegas, but returned to fitness in time for his performance at Glastonbury.
Despite recent health scares, the Scotsman has made it clear that he has no plans to give up music.
'I'm Fit and Have a Full Head of Hair'
Stewart claimed in 2024 he was still fit to perform, despite his age.
In 2024, after announcing a farewell tour, Stewart, who is married to former Brit model Penny Lancaster, 55, clarified that he was giving up big tours – not performing altogether.
"This will be the end of large-scale world tours for me, but I have no desire to retire," he shared in a statement on social media. "I love what I do, and I do what I love."
He continued: "I’m fit, have a full head of hair, and can run 100 meters in 18 seconds at the jolly old age of 79."
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Rod Stewart previously boasted about his exercise regime.
Last year, Stewart told AARP: "I keep myself very fit. I played soccer all my life – don’t so much anymore, because I had a knee replacement. And I've always had a trainer – same guy for 38 years."
He told the outlet that he has a "massive" gym and an indoor pool, explaining: "We do a lot of underwater training, where the trainer throws a brick into the pool and I have to dive in, push the brick to the end of the pool, and come up."
Aside from swimming, Stewart said that he was doing 100-meter sprints on his private track.
"I got it down to 19 seconds by learning how to push off," the Do Ya Think I’m Sexy singer said. "I’m going to try and do 17 seconds, which I think is a world record for an 80-year-old."
