The Sonic Temple, Welcome To Rockville and Epicenter festivals, all of which were lined up to take place in May in US this year, have been canceled as COVID-19 continues to spread its tentacles.
Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival is produced by Los Angeles-based Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent producers of destination festivals in America. The additional Danny Wimmer Presents events include Epicenter, Welcome To Rockville, Hometown Rising, Louder Than Life, Bourbon & Beyond, Aftershock, and more.
Danny Wimmer Presents, which is said to be one of the largest independent music festival producers in America, released the following statement about the fate of their May 2020 events:
“There are no pre-existing guidelines for what festivals should be doing during this unprecedented time. Like the rest of the music industry, we continue to assess new information and make the best-educated decisions possible. We know you have been anxious for updates from us and we are at a point where we can answer many of your questions about how each of our festivals may be affected by COVID-19.”
The statement further read, “We are crushed to say that Epicenter, Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple are being canceled due to the Governmental restrictions on mass gatherings. We respect these directives and recognize they are in the best interest of the greater good, as well as the health and safety of our fans, musicians, partners, and staff.”
The statement added, “Before accepting this fate, we worked really hard to try to reschedule the festivals. Unfortunately, scheduling conflicts, venue availabilities and a number of other factors out of our control made postponing impossible. Make no mistake, each of these festivals will return in May 2021 bigger and stronger than ever! Let’s be perfectly clear – FULL REFUNDS will be available to everyone who has purchased passes to Epicenter, Welcome To Rockville and Sonic Temple.”
“In addition to offering refunds, many of you have said that you would prefer to apply your 2020 purchases towards next year or exchange your pass for another one of our 2020 festivals. Based on your feedback, we are offering pass holders three options:
- Full refund;
- Apply your pass to 2021; and
- Exchange your pass for another 2020 DWP festival.
“Complete details will be emailed out to our pass holders within 72 hours,” the statement concluded.
Larger than life
As COVID-19 shows no signs of abatement and wreaks havoc on major music festivals, live event organizers have been canceling or postponing large gatherings of major concerts worldwide. The dreaded virus has assumed a larger than life proportion globally.
U.K. and Europe
- Harry Styles’ ‘Love On Love’ tour of the U.K. and Europe has been pushed back to 2021 for “obvious reasons” as the British pop star tweeted – “Anyone who knows me, knows that performing has always been my favorite part of working in music. However, during times like these, the safety and protection of touring crew, fans, and everyone else around the world is an immediate priority.”
New dates will be announced from February 2021.
Status: Rescheduled
Norway
- The ‘Romance’ tour – the upcoming second solo concert tour by American singer Camila Cabello in support of her second studio album ‘Romance (2019)’ – was set to begin on May 26, 2020, in Oslo (Norway), but the tour is postponed amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Though she is yet to work out rescheduled dates, she stated, “I promise I’ll see you and cuddle your faces off when it’s safe and this all passes, and I am working on a tour that was really magical and special”.
Status: Postponed
South Africa
- International Jazz Day 2020 is canceled. Scheduled to take place in Cape Town and other cities in South Africa in the last week of April this year, the jazz fest could continue as a free live stream worldwide, organizers say.
Status: Canceled
United States of America
- American singing sensation Garth Brooks has rescheduled his upcoming stadium concerts in the United States – “Like so many people right now, I just want to get back to what I do. Knowing these shows are eventually going to happen makes me happy.” The Bank of America Stadium show in Charlotte, North Carolina in US, scheduled for May 2, will now be held on June 13. The Paul Brown Stadium show at Cincinnati in Ohio, US, scheduled for May 16, will now be staged on June 27.
Status: Rescheduled
- Firefly Music Festival at Dover, Delaware in US, has announced the cancelation of its 2020 edition due to coronavirus. The four-day festival was set to take place at The Woodlands of Dover International Speedway from June 18-21.
“We take the safety and health of our fans, staff and community seriously and we urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials,” the organizers said in a statement.
Status: Canceled
- Zac Brown Band announced that they are canceling this spring’s ‘The Owl Tour’, which had previously been postponed. “We are deeply disappointed this has happened, touring is our life blood and performing live for our fans is the best part of this job. Bottom line though, we want to take every precaution to put the health and safety of our fans and crew first.”
The band has now canceled all remaining 2020 dates, including this summer’s ‘Roar with the Lions Tour’, which was slated to begin on May 24.
Status: Canceled
- American musician and singer Vanessa Carlton is rescheduling all of her ‘Love Is An Art’ tour (both the first and second legs) supposed to be held in major US cities to help limit the instances of group gatherings. “I will not put any of you in a position where you may become sick, so we must postpone our tour. But, we are going to do all we can to reschedule these dates, and when we do we’ll bring you an epic show! Meanwhile, wash your hands 9,000 times a day. Thank you for your understanding and your support-and be safe!” she said in a statement.
Status: Rescheduled
- English singer-songwriter Elton John has postponed his ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour’ in major US cities. Shows from March 26-May 2 have been pushed to 2021.
Elton John is the latest artiste to put his touring plans on hold as the United States goes under lockdown in an attempt to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
“This tough decision has been made with the safety and well-being of his fans put to the fore, at a time when health services are under increased pressure and with the concern that these gatherings risk accelerating the spread of the Coronavirus [COVID-19],” read a statement.
Status: Postponed
United Kingdom
- The Great Escape U.K. 2020 festival stands canceled. Featuring more than 400 performers, the event “will no longer be taking place this year”. Organizers explained, “We’ve not taken this decision lightly. Taking into account that we are only a few weeks out from the event, and the current status of things, this was the best decision for fans, artistes, staff and the community.”
The industry gathering was due to take place on May 13-16 in Brighton, England. Looking ahead, the show is locked-in for May 12-15, 2021.
Status: Canceled
Australia
- The Melbourne and Sydney seasons of American country music singer Dolly Parton’s hit musical ‘9 TO 5’ is postponed. “Once we receive Government advice regarding the reopening schedule for venues and new dates can be secured, existing ticket holders will be provided with an exclusive first option to secure the best seats,” reads a statement from the organizers.
Status: Postponed
- American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus canceled her trip to Australia for the World Tour Bushfire Relief concert, due to concerns relating to the coronavirus outbreak. Lil Nas X, The Veronicas and Seb Fontaine were also booked for the now-canceled concert, originally scheduled for March 13, 2020, in Melbourne.
Status: Canceled
Australia and New Zealand
- The English heavy metal band Iron Maiden has postponed their May tour of Australia and New Zealand. The UK legends were scheduled to tour in May. “We are hugely disappointed not to be seeing our fans in Australia and New Zealand in May due to the understandable Government concert bans surrounding coronavirus. Sadly these are difficult and uncertain times for us all,” Iron Maiden Co-Manager Rod Smallwood said in a statement.
“We still intend to bring this great ‘Legacy Of The Beast’ show to you all as soon we can and I promise we will do everything we can to achieve this with our promoters and subject to what is happening around us globally,” Smallwood further stated.
Status: Postponed
- The Australasian pop spectacular ‘So Pop 2020’ has been canceled. The six-date arena tour had a line-up featuring Pussycat Dolls, Steps, Jesse McCartney, Smash Mouth and more. “It is with a heavy heart that Frontier Touring and Arena Touring announce that ‘So Pop 2020’ will no longer be taking place in Australia and New Zealand this April and May,” a statement read.
Status: Canceled
UK and Ireland
- The American girl group and dance ensemble ‘The Pussycat Dolls’ postponed their UK and Ireland tour. “We’re heartbroken that we will not be able to perform next month, but the safety and health of our fans is, of course, our No. 1 priority. We look forward to seeing you all at the rescheduled dates in October. In the meantime, please stay safe and look after yourselves,” the girl group tweeted. The new tour dates will be from October 19 to November 2 this year.
Status: Postponed
North America
- The Rolling Stones announced that their 15-date ‘No Filter Tour’ has been postponed. “AEG Presents/Concerts West regrets to announce the postponement of the Rolling Stones upcoming NO FILTER tour of North America due to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.” The Stones 15-date ‘NO FILTER’ summer tour was due to kick off in San Diego on May 8 and end in Atlanta on July 9.
“We’re hugely disappointed to have to postpone the tour. We are sorry to all the fans who were looking forward to it as much as we were, but the health and safety of everyone has to take priority. We will all get through this together — and we’ll see you very soon,” the band said in a statement.
Status: Postponed
South America
- The American hard rock band from Los Angeles Guns N’ Roses postponed all of their upcoming South American tour dates. Previously, just the Costa Rican date was rescheduled.
Guns N’ Roses have announced the rescheduled dates for their recently postponed Central and South American tour. The tour, which was originally slated to take place in March and April, was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic which has brought the worldwide concert industry to a
near-complete standstill.
The new shows will take place in November and December 2020, with all original tickets honored for the rescheduled dates.
Guns N’ Roses tweeted out a link to the tour page on the band’s official website and included the following message: “GNR fam, we’re announcing new rescheduled #GNR2020 tour dates. Hold onto your tickets, see you soon.” The official announcement also says the band’s Costa Rica show “has been postponed due to direction from the Government. It will be rescheduled for later in the year so hold on to your tickets.”
Status: Rescheduled
Feel-the-heat
Every music festival, tour or concert the world over is either being canceled or postponed or rescheduled due to the coronavirus outbreak. The music industry is feeling the effects of COVID-19. Massive festivals have been canceled or postponed, and many artistes have been forced to take similar actions with tour dates.
Health experts say that that all concerts — from clubs and amphitheaters to arenas and stadiums — should be shut down for the foreseeable future. That will have to be done keeping in mind the larger interests of the human race.
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