Updated: Every Music Festival and Event Canceled Due to Coronavirus (So Far)

Wash your hands—and get your refunds.

By Ellen Johnson  |  March 12, 2020 | 3:45pm
Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Music Lists coronavirus
Updated: Every Music Festival and Event Canceled Due to Coronavirus (So Far)

Coronavirus has come for our sports (the NBA, MLB and MLS have all postponed or canceled their seasons), our mental health (How’s everybody feeling out there?), our movies (that means you, Peter Rabbit and A Quiet Place sequels) and, now, our music. Music festivals and concerts across the world are getting canceled or stalled due to the outbreak of the virus we call COVID-19, which the World Health Organization has, as of Wednesday, March 11, now classified as a pandemic.

In addition to these event cancellations, artists both big (Pearl Jam, Madonna, The Who and Mariah Carey, to name a few) and small (like TORRES, who aimed to emergency evacuate her band from Europe last week) are canceling shows, as well. For bigger artists, this isn’t as much of a financial issue, but for some smaller full-time artists, touring profits are their primary source of income, and this acceleration of events could leave some folks empty-handed, as Larry Fitzmaurice explained over at Stereogum. So now’s the time to buy a t-shirt or chuck a few dollars at your favorite indie artist’s bandcamp page, or just join us in supporting these artists who were slated to perform at this year’s now-canceled SXSW event. Here’s a list of other ways you can help.

So buckle up, folks. It seems that, maybe, this is only the beginning of many cancellations to come. But here’s what we know so far. See below for all the major music festivals and music events that have been canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak as of yet. This list will be updated as needed.

Coachella and Stagecoach

That’s right, both the massive annual popular music festival Coachella and its sister country sequel Stagecoach have been postponed to October due to the coronavirus. Coachella is now set to take place the weekends of Oct. 9-11 and 16-18, and Stagecoach on Oct. 23-25. As of now, tickets will be honored for those October dates, but we won’t know about full refunds until a statement from Goldenvoice arrives Friday, March 13, per THR. Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean were scheduled to headline Coachella, while Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood and Eric Church were slated to head up Stagecoach.

South By Southwest

All events for the 2020 South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas have been suspended, as of Friday. This is the first cancellation of the festival in its 34 years of existence. In an official statement from SXSW, the festival announced the City of Austin was behind the cancellation. SXSW later laid off a third of its employees to try and cover their losses, which are enormous. See and support our list of the artists we were most excited to see at this year’s event.

Big Ears

The annual Big Ears festival, which was set to take place in Knoxville, Tenn., March 26- 29, has been canceled, per an official statement from the festival. They are offering full refunds to ticket holders. “This has been a tough decision,” wrote founder/executive director Ashley Capps, but with the rapid development of events surrounding COVID-19, it just wasn’t possible to carry on with the events as planned.

Treefort

Treefort Music Fest, the annual SXSW-style discovery festival in Boise, Idaho that Paste has covered in the past, was meant to take place March 25-29 but has been postponed to Sept. 23-27, per the festival’s website. “With support from The City of Boise and Central District Health, postponing the festival is the best option for the Treasure Valley, the far-reaching Treefort community and the individuals and organizations that support Treefort Music Fest,” the statement reads.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has postponed its scheduled May 2 induction ceremony to an unspecified date later in 2020. This year’s class includes Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, T-Rex and the Notorious B.I.G. “We are very disappointed to announce the postponement of this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony,” said Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President Joel Peresman in a statement. “We look forward to rescheduling the ceremony and will make that announcement at the earliest convenience.”

Broadway

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday afternoon a ban on gatherings of 500 persons or more in New York state, so that means Broadway theaters will be closing their doors. “For Broadway theaters in Manhattan, these rules will go into effect at 5pm TODAY,” Cuomo wrote in an additional tweet. “We have already spoken to the theaters about these new measures and they agreed.” It’s unclear when this ban will lift.

Ultra Music Festival

Miami’s largest annual dance and electronic festival, Ultra, has been postponed until 2021. The festival was supposed to take place at Bayfront Park in Miami March 20-22 with acts like Flume, Major Lazer and Zedd slated to perform. The new dates for the festival are March 26-28, 2021, per the festival’s website.

Tomorrowland Winter 2020

The French electronic festival Tomorrowland was supposed to happen March 14-21 in the French Alps but has been canceled due to the French government’s enforcing cancellations of large events, according to a statement on the fest’s website: “The French government is taking drastic measurements regarding the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 virus (coronavirus) and is therefore enforcing the cancellation of large events in France, bringing together people from different nationalities on closed festival grounds and event locations.”

Korea Times Music Festival

The 18th Korea Times K-pop festival, which was scheduled for April 25 at the Hollywood Bowl, has been canceled due to travel restrictions in Asia, a statement on their website reads. Ticket holders can receive a full refund or hold onto their tickets until a new date is announced.

Live Nation Tours

As of Thursday, Live Nation has taken extreme precautions against the coronavirus pandemic, suspending all live music tours in an effort to combat the spread of the virus. Live Nation instructed all of its touring shows to prepare to return home, both domestically and internationally, per Billboard. A select number of shows will play out during the next few days, but Live Nation is prepared to postpone all live events through the months of March and April. Employees of Live Nation have also been instructed to work from home starting immediately, with the company’s Beverly Hills headquarters remaining mostly closed until the end of March. The company is hoping that no layoffs or major losses will occur, as March is generally a slow month for live concerts. —Natalia Keogan

Record Store Day

The annual event that brings together independent record stores across the country was meant to take place April 18 but has been tentatively rescheduled for June 20. “We’re working with all of our partners and our stores to make this change as smooth as possible for everyone who participates in Record Store Day, including the customers, the record stores, the artists, labels and more,” the organization said in a press release.

World Tour Bushfire Relief Concert

The benefit concert for the Australian bushfires was scheduled for Friday, March 13, but was canceled after headliner Miley Cyrus pulled out. The proceeds were supposed to go to the WWF Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund and the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal.

Afro Nation Puerto Rico

The festival was supposed to take place this week (March 18-21) in San Juan but was canceled after urging from the Puerto Rican government. “If requested, refunds will be processed within 7 working days,” organizers wrote in a press release.

Dreamville Festival

J. Cole’s second annual Dreamville Festival is being rescheduled from its original date, April 4, to Saturday, Aug. 29. Tickets will be honored at the new date/time, and the event will still take place at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, N.C., per a statement from the festival.

Something In The Water

The annual festival hosted by Pharrell Williams in his hometown of Virginia Beach, Va. has canceled its 2020 dates. Something In The Water will return April 23-25, 2021, and all 2020 tickets will be honored at next year’s festival, or you can submit for a refund here.

Luck Reunion

Willie Nelson’s annual ranch party outside Austin, Texas has followed SXSW’s lead and has canceled its 2020 event, organizers announced last week. The festival was supposed to take place this Wednesday, March 18.

Juno Awards

Canada’s biggest music awards program was canceled last week, per THR. Alessia Cara was set to host the telecast, which, like all the other scheduled Juno events, will not go forward.

Glastonbury

The massive annual Glastonbury Festival is the latest to get the boot due to coronavirus concerns. Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar were among performers slated to take the stage on Worthy Farm in Somerset on June 24-28. See the organizers’ full statement via Twitter below:

Pitchfork Music Festival Berlin

Pitchfork announced Tuesday that the German offshoot of their Pitchfork Music Festival, which was due to take place May 8 & 9, is canceled. Pitchfork Music Festival Chicago is still scheduled to go ahead as planned, as of now.

Mission Creek

Mission Creek Festival 2020, which was supposed to happen April 1-4 in downtown Iowa City, Iowa, will not take place as planned. Organizers are hoping to reschedule the event for late summer or early fall, per a statement on the festival’s website.

Lightning in a Bottle

The independent central California music festival will not go forth as planned on May 20-25. KAYTRANADA, Sylvan Esso and Griz were among those scheduled to play. Full statement available on the festival’s website.

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

For the first time in 50 years, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will not take place during its normal springtime window. The organizers announced in a statement on social media that they are aiming to reschedule the event in the fall (exact dates still TBA).

Sweetwater 420 Fest

The annual Atlanta jam band festival will not be lighting up the second-to-last weekend of April this year. Sweetwater is still trying to determine whether a new 2020 date is in the cards or if the festival is canceled entirely. Full statement here.

Melbourne International Jazz Festival 2020

The annual event was set to take place May 29 through June 7 but is canceled this year due to coronavirus concerns, organizers announced on Wednesday, March 18.

Tortuga Music Festival

The country-leaning festival had lined up Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and Tim McGraw as headliners, but has now been forced to postpone the event. Originally scheduled to take place in April, Tortuga will now happen Oct. 2-4. More information here.

Academy of Country Music Awards

The ACM awards were scheduled to broadcast live from Las Vegas on CBS on Sunday, April 5, but have now been postponed to September at an undetermined later date, per the Academy’s website.

Shaky Knees

One of the South’s premier rock festivals Shaky Knees has been rescheduled from May 1-3 to Oct. 16-18. Original headliners The Strokes, The Smashing Pumpkins and The Black Keys are all still signed on for the new dates. Full statement here.

Bonnaroo

The farm will be silent this June, as it turns out. Bonnaroo will now take place Sept. 24-27 instead of its planned long weekend, June 11-14, organizers announced Wednesday, March 18.

This post was last updated Wednesday, March 18, at 3:08 p.m.

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