Nick Woods of Direct Hit! has announced that he will not be playing with the band at any of their upcoming shows due to health concerns. Direct Hit! will still be playing in Chicago on August 28, and in Iowa on August 27. He released a satement on the band's official social media pages that reads in part,

"Hey dudes. Nick here. Alerting anyone who cares that I won’t be at the Fest in October, or at the show we were scheduled to play in Indianapolis in a couple weeks. DH will still be playing in Chicago on 8/28, and in Iowa on 8/27 - the former is in a larger room at 50% capacity, and the latter is outdoors.

We set up all of these shows this spring under the assumption that most of the country would be vaccinated by the end of summer. That obviously hasn’t been the case. I’ve got an unvaccinated 5-year old at home, and can’t risk getting her sick after catching breakthrough COVID in a packed indoor environment, like my vaccinated parents and many of my friends have, where there’s a chance of highly-infectious people getting through the door. The risk of that happening is especially high in Florida and in small indoor venues at the moment, where distancing and mask mandates can’t be strictly enforced.

If you and your friends and family are vaccinated, I hope you still go to both shows. Independent venues and artists dependent on live music to make a living are struggling, and deserve your support."

Direct Hit! last released Crown of Nothing in 2018. See the post in full below.