Rod Stewart backs out of 200th Las Vegas show celebration, citing illness

The British rock icon Rod Stewart canceled the planned 200th show of his long-running Las Vegas residency, citing strep throat.

“I’m desperately sorry to miss this 200th show celebration,” the 79-year-old Stewart wrote on Instagram on Wednesday. “Most people can work with strep throat but obviously not me. I’m absolutely gutted. I’ve been looking forward to this concert for so long. My deepest regrets for any inconvenience this has caused.”

The Faces rocker and solo star is a fixture at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, performing there since 2011. He began his 13th residency at the venue on July 24 and released his latest album “Tears of Hercules” in 2021.

Stewart recently tore into former President Trump onstage at Caesar’s, mocking Trump’s comments about Vice President Kamala Harris “all of a sudden” turning Black.

“I didn’t know he was orange until a number of years ago, when he happened to turn orange,” Stewart said. “I respect either one, but he obviously doesn’t and now he wants to be known as Orange... All of a sudden he made a turn and became an Orange person. I think someone should look into that.”

(Stewart, lamenting social media in an interview with The Times in 2018, said, “The things I used to get away with… But now everyone’s got a phone with a camera. You’ve got to watch your step.”)

Stewart plans to revisit the Caesar’s residency next year. “Thankfully we’ll now be returning in 2025,” he wrote, “and I hope to see you all there.”