Rod Stewart has drawn backlash after being spotted cheering for Scotland in the stands at a World Cup game, just hours after cancelling a concert in California due to health reasons.
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Just a day before he made an appearance at the World Cup game between Scotland and Haiti on Saturday (June 13), Stewart’s team shared a statement to his Instagram Stories, detailing that “on the advice of his doctors and following a diagnosis of an acute upper respiratory infection that has resulted in laryngitis, he is unable to take the stage this evening.”
Stewart later followed up with his own statement less than an hour before a California gig was scheduled to start, adding: “Following treatment, I’m feeling much better, but my voice is not. I’m very disappointed and sincerely apologise for any inconvenience to my fans.”
Then, over the weekend, he shared a video of himself flying to Boston in a private jet alongside his sons. “Here we are flying off to Boston to see Scotland in the World Cup,” Stewart said in the Instagram video. “It’s been 28 years, so these kids, I’ve told them about it, but they’ve never been. I’ve been to seven World Cups.”
They ended the video with a high-energy chant of “No Scotland, no party,” sparking criticism from some fans in the comment section, given he’d cancelled the aforementioned show in Chula Vista less than an hour before he was set to take the stage.
Later that day, Stewart was seen throwing his arms in the air in the stands as he celebrated Scotland’s victory.
His next scheduled performance is at Colorado’s Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre this evening (Monday June 15).
The veteran rocker turned 81 earlier this year, and has been touring consistently for over 60 years, including during his years with the Faces and the Jeff Beck Group, and he has been performing on his ‘One Last Time’ farewell tour since 2024, including his turn at Glastonbury last summer.
He has over 20 dates remaining in the US this year, and in a recent interview on TalkSport, he looked ahead to next year, hinting that he is considering calling it a day after one last UK run.
“Then I’m touring the UK next year, doing The O2, and that’ll probably be it, I think,” he said. “I’ll have to do something new, come on your show more often, maybe.”
In 2024, Stewart said he was done with “large-scale world tours”, saying his 2025 run of arena shows would be his last, although he did add at the time that he had “no desire to retire”.
“I love what I do, and I do what I love,” he said at the time. “I’m fit, have a full head of hair, and can run 100 meters in 18 seconds at the jolly old age of 79.” He also confessed that he thought his “days are numbered” as he neared his 80th birthday in 2025. “I’m aware my days are numbered but I’ve got no fear,” he said.
“We have all got to pass on at some point, so we are all in the same basket. I am going to be enjoying myself for these last few years as much as I can. I say few – probably another 15. I can do that easy mate, easy.”
Stewart memorably played the legends’ slot on Sunday afternoon on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2025, where he was joined by Ronnie Wood, Mick Hucknall and Lulu. NME was at the show and awarded it four stars, noting: “It may be the staggering heat or a stronger Sunday hangover this year, but the crowd aren’t quite as raucous as they often are for the legends slot, despite the many resplendent in copycat wigs and spandex. Still, the man’s voice is on point and he knows how to charm while giving you bang for your buck.”
After their reunion, Wood later said that progress on a long-promised new Faces album had stalled, as it was hard to make their “times tally”.