Rod Stewart was performing at the Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre in West Valley City on Friday night, more than halfway through a concert that was part of his One Last Time tour, when something visibly went wrong.
The 81-year-old stopped moving around the stage the way he normally does.
He gripped instruments for support. He held onto a barrier at the side of the stage. He braced himself against a pole. Backstage crew noticed and came out to help.
One of them brought an oxygen tank. Stewart placed the mask over his nose and mouth and took several deep breaths in front of 20,000 people who applauded and cheered while he inhaled.
When he had steadied himself enough to speak, he addressed the crowd with the specific kind of candor that you can apparently only earn after 60 years on stage. "The show must go on. I nearly f---ing fainted there. Would you mind if I sit down for this one?"
The crowd said yes. He sat down. He finished the concert from a chair — "Have I Told You Lately," "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and a one-song encore of "Love Train" all performed seated, and the show that nearly ended badly became the kind of story that spreads immediately because it contains everything that makes a veteran performer worth watching, the scare, the recovery, the self-deprecating honesty and the refusal to leave.
What Likely Happened And What Came Before
The most plausible explanation for the oxygen moment, though Rod Stewart's representatives have not confirmed a cause, is elevation.
West Valley City sits at approximately 4,300 feet above sea level. Thinner air at that altitude means less available oxygen per breath, which can produce shortness of breath, dizziness and fatigue in people who are not acclimatized to it.
At sea level you breathe without thinking about it. At 4,300 feet, singing at full performance intensity for an extended period can challenge even a physically fit person.
At 81, with a history of thyroid and prostate cancer, the challenge is compounded.
The Utah show came one day after Stewart canceled his San Diego performance at North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, calling it off 45 minutes before showtime after being diagnosed with an acute upper respiratory infection that had caused laryngitis.
He traveled to the San Diego venue and made every effort to perform before his doctors advised him not to. He did not perform.
The following day, photographs circulated of Stewart at a World Cup match in Boston, cheering for Scotland. Fans who had been told he was too ill to sing were not uniformly understanding about the sight of him at a sporting event a day later.
The backlash was swift and specific. Stewart has not publicly addressed it beyond the San Diego statement.
Then he went to Utah, got on stage and nearly fainted in front of the crowd. He reached for an oxygen tank and sat down and finished his set and thanked everyone for coming.
The One Last Time Tour And What It Means
Rod Stewart has been performing on his One Last Time tour, which he has described as his final large-scale world tour, though he has also been careful to clarify that he does not intend to retire from performing entirely.
He simply will not be staging productions of this scale again after this.
The scale in question includes the full band, the elaborate production, the multiple nights per week across arenas and amphitheaters.
He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 and revealed it publicly in 2019, saying his cancer was in remission.
He had been treated for thyroid cancer in 2000.
He has remained extraordinarily active as a performer given his age and medical history, a fact his fans frequently point to and that the Friday night Utah scare temporarily interrupted without ultimately disrupting.
He is 81 years old. He sat in a chair and sang "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" after nearly fainting at 4,300 feet. The show must go on.