NYS Music 202​0

Tag: cancelled

  • LarkFest 2020 Cancelled Due to COVID-19

    LarkFest is a well known Albany tradition loved by it’s community for bringing guests from all over, vendors, artists, and musicians to the Lark Street Corridor in Albany. Unfortunately, this year the festivities have been cancelled due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. The festival was scheduled to happen on September 19, 2020 from 10:30AM -5:30PM.

    LarkFest

    Lark fest is put on by the Lark Street Business Improvement District. It is a celebration of everything unique and exciting about Lark Street and the creative culture of the greater Capital Region of New York. LarkFest was cancelled this year due to the inability to keep attendees safe which is the festival’s highest priority. On top of the  inability to keep people socially distancing and safe, the restrictions on mass gatherings make it impossible to make LarkFest happen this year.

    The team behind LarkFest encourages people to continue to safely support the artists, musicians, businesses, and vendors that make this event so special each year despite it being cancelled this year. LarkFest plans to be back and booming in 2021. Until then, there are a few local arts & cultural organizations that are so critical to the foundation of what makes their community unique and beautiful the team behind LarkFest want to point people in the direction to support. These organizations include African American Cultural Center, Albany Center Gallery,  Albany Symphony Orchestra, Creative Impact Capital Region Artist Fund, Irish American Heritage Museum, Palace Theatre.

    For more information on LarkFest visit their website.

  • moe. Miracle Mile Drive-In Concert Cancelled

    The moe. Miracle Mile Drive-In concert was cancelled days before it’s shows on July 31 and Aug. 1. by venue management on July 29 due to safety concerns. Vernon Downs Casino Hotel was scheduled to host the performances but abruptly changed their minds with continuing concerns revolving around the COVID-19 pandemic. 

    Organizers of the event stated that, “Despite putting a comprehensive health and safety plan in place for the events, Vernon Downs management made the preemptive decision to not allow the concerts to be held on-site due to the continuing health and safety concerns surrounding the global COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the article in Observer-Dispatch.

    The band announced via their Facebook that their moe. Miracle Mile Drive-In would have to be canceled due to the short notice given to them by Vernon Downs Casino Hotel. They also stated that refunds will be automatically issued by Ticketmaster to all original ticket purchasers. 

    https://www.facebook.com/moe.org/posts/10158496404552438

    The promoter of the show, Creative Concerts Inc, states in their Facebook post that Vernon Downs Casino Hotel breached their contract and forced the show to be canceled. “We’re devastated by this turn of events and are still committed to bringing safe socially distanced events to upstate and central NY….Thank you for being so supportive of our efforts hopefully we can find a new venue in the near future that will honor their promises and commitment,” stated Chuck Chao, President of Creative Concerts Inc.

    https://www.facebook.com/cconcerts/posts/1563077290541928?__xts__[0]=68.ARBysQBqtmVI1EEWey_4SXVWbLpx9pumn6y0VQ6Q-QP9g0WCTErOF_qqwDZ5MDQamprDOmWXq-FoWnwmda8c59oBASeG46E3Lt1ulIUtH16m1f5u5r6MTMtCpLUhI9kprA7zEY7SYoFcFDyzcovdV3R4varDuvQ7f8OBKu_JcMCHABnnQ1nc2YORo67shuQbLqo9uQlJw7jG_NlAPNrIPp9SRuoKU0Vf6_K3kpB02x2BaJAfs5DCWURXqn3FEql_GoA8fd0oZH_GXlKZ6b-3WVk8BJqwO83dTD6uJG9YWuSAoSeDL43m0EmOfUTxV2B8rHwaC6-mq9RhtXaoYliEMDWx-Ltvkre1z-QHh6BMunN_jfDE4vURDqT2ME6V6wcjotTREv-sWqBFt0JLR2nu79fkKHeg2yIctoBP7Lvkho5_cK_2ACfwnslizl-xFj42MoLX1OcejF3qUjGtztSl4GEZCqaJi39rJAu7MC_hSRW3dqjO&__tn__=-R

    moe. also announced that, “While [we] can no longer play for you in a live concert setting, we will still perform for you live via webcast. We have been rehearsing in an historic church-turned-recording studio and will broadcast two full moe. shows from this setting, starting at 7pm on Friday and Saturday evenings. We hope you can join us virtually. For tickets and more information, please visit tourgigs.com/shows” 

    moe drive in

    For more information visit moe.’s website.

  • Summer Camp Music Festival Postponed to 2021

    After the recent spike in Coronavirus cases, the Summer Camp Music Festival has decided to postpone their 20th anniversary concert to Memorial Day weekend 2021. 

    For the past 19 years, the Summer Camp Music Festival in Illinois has been held on Memorial Day weekend to kick off summer with a bang. Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, this year’s festival was postponed. Although organizers and staff hoped that it could take place later this summer, the festival has been pushed back to Memorial Day weekend 2021 as Illinois will not be in Phase 5 of the reopening process this August and therefore cannot safely hold the concert. Ian Goldbreg, founder of the Summer Camp music festival, states that the staff holds “the health and safety of you, our fans, and our dedicated staff as our number one concern.”

    Despite this setback, plans for next year’s festival are already in the works. While some artists are “still working out details,” the majority of this summer’s lineup has confirmed that they will perform at the 20th anniversary festival in 2021. Additionally, all tickets for this year’s festival will roll over and be good for 2021. If you cannot make it next year, refunds will be available starting on July 13 and ending on July 30, 2020. 

    summer camp fest

    Although it has been a very difficult decision, Goldberg comments: “I felt I was acting in the best interest of the many people who dedicate their lives to this event every year, knowing all along I would never put those lives in jeopardy if the situation did not prove to allow for a safe event.” The festival is great for all music fans, with crowd favorites moe. and Umphrey’s McGee headlining. The 2020 lineup was supposed to include other artists like Ween, Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, Billy Strings, Rezz, STS9, Tipper, and more. 

    Fans of the festival wait for it to come back “even bigger and better” on May 28-30, 2021. Until then, check out NYSMusic’s coverage of the festival’s recent years: 2019, 2018, and 2017.

  • Broadway Shutdown Extended to January 3, 2021

    On June 29, The Broadway League announced that the Coronavirus shutdown would remain effective for Broadway theaters for the remainder of 2020. 

    Photo by Kate Glicksberg

    On March 12, The Broadway League closed NYC’s shows after Governor Cuomo placed restrictions on mass gatherings. The theaters were supposed to only stay closed for a month. However, due to the ever-present threat of COVID-19, the date was pushed back several times. Now, shows will not be opening until January 3, 2021. 

    Broadway has gone dark before. Shows have been closed many times for strikes in 1919, 1964, and 1975, and all shows were closed for several days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This hurt shows financially so much that several were not able to reopen after the shutdown ended. However, Broadway has never been closed this long before.

    Much like the 9/11 shutdown, Broadway shows are being deeply hurt by this inactivity today. Hangmen and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? will not be able to open in 2021. 31 productions were running in March, with 8 new shows in previews that were scheduled to officially open later this year. The Minutes, American Buffalo, and the long anticipated revival of The Music Man starring Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman announced that their opening dates would be postponed. The Lincoln Center Theater and the Roundabout Theatre Company have released new Spring dates for their upcoming works. 

    Via gaylesbroadwayrose.com

    “The Broadway experience can be deeply personal but it is also, crucially, communal,” says Chairman of the Board of The Broadway League Thomas Schumacher. “Every single member of our community is eager to get back to work sharing stories that inspire our audience through the transformative power of a shared live experience. The safety of our cast, crew, orchestra and audience is our highest priority and we look forward to returning to our stages only when it’s safe to do so. One thing is for sure, when we return we will be stronger and more needed than ever.”

    The theaters are expected to open with rolling dates starting on January 3, 2021. All tickets before this date are being refunded or exchanged. In the meantime, Broadway fans can watch the original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton on Disney+, which will be available for streaming on July 3.

  • Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Decides to Cancel Their 2020 Season Due to COVID-19

    Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival announced it’s decision to cancel it’s 2020 festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival had previously planned to postpone their 2020 festival but decided to completely cancel it. Like many festivals out there right now, the priority of keeping people safe trumps the priority of the festival happening this year. 

    Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival was originally postponed to September 24-27 back in March. The festival was ultimately cancelled on June 24 via a statement made on their website. Their statement on their reasons behind cancelling the festival said, “Our annual time together on the Farm is nothing short of magical, but out of an abundance of caution and for the health and safety of all Bonnaroovians, artists, staff, partners and our community, this is a necessary reality.  More information on lineup, camping and accommodations will be available at a later date.”

    The festival will be offering for current ticket holders to either having their tickets roll over to the 2021 season or to get a refund on their tickets. Ticket holders will have to log into their Frontgate account and select the refund option starting on July 1, 2020 and will be able to request refunds until July 31, 2020. Ticket holders who don’t request a refund within this time will have their ticket automatically roll over to the 2021 festival. Ticket holders who purchased from Nashville Shuttle, Airport Shuttle, Hotel package, or purchased tickets through Lyte, Fevo, or Ticketmaster Resale, there will not be a rollover ticket option for 2021. Those ticket orders will be automatically refunded and will be issued to your original method of payment.

    Although there will be no Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival this year, a weekend-long virtual festival will be taking place on the rescheduled Bonnaroo dates September 24-27, 2020. The virtual festival will include some of the staff’s favorite moments from past and present, along with some special surprises. There will be more details on this released on this virtual festival soon.

    For more information on the Cancellation of the 2020 season and the virtual festival visit Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival’s website.

  • Mazzstock Music Festival Cancels for 2020 Due to COVID-19

    Marlboro New York’s Mazzstock Music Festival cancels their 2020 festival in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This decision didn’t come lightly, but staff decided that protecting the health, safety, and well-being of their attendees, staff, performers, and vendors was most important than having the festival take place this year.

    In Mazzstock Music Festival’s original COVID-19 announcement posted on their website and Facebook page on April 5 said the festival would be tentatively scheduled for August 20-23, 2020. Then it was announced on June 23 via their Facebook page they would be cancelling the event entirely saying, “Mazzstock will not take place in 2020.  We will miss all of the awesome people who make our event special this year, and we look forward to celebrating life, love, music, and our health with you under more normalized circumstances in 2021. Until then, please stay safe and take care of each other. We [love] you!

    Take A Walk On The Wild Side ~ The Mazzstock Allstars ~ Mazzstock 2018

    If it all goes as planned, and COVID-19 calms down, Mazzstock Music Festival will be back and kicking in 2021. The Mazzstock Music Festival hosts jam bands to blues, reggae to trip hop, alternative to country, this family vibe fest covers the entire spectrum of great rock and roll. Previous lineups can be found here and include a lot of great local music. The festival started as a birthday party back in 2008  has become an annual three-day festival that sprawls over two stages.

    For more information on Mazzstock Music Festival visit their website.

  • Woodstock 50 Takes Previous Investor to Court Again

    In August of 2019, a huge festival celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original Woodstock was supposed to be held. The event’s lineup included artists such as Jay-Z, Miley Cyrus, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, and more. Although it was extremely hyped, the festival was cancelled less than a month before its scheduled date due to multiple issues which were prompted after Dentsu, one of the festival’s investors, pulled out of the event. Now, Woodstock is taking Dentsu back to court and demanding that they be refunded for the company’s fraudulent actions.

    Woodstock 50 court
    Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock (10160758ad) Woodstock co-producer and co-founder, Michael Lang, participates in the Woodstock 50 lineup announcement at Electric Lady Studios, in New York Woodstock 50 Lineup Announcement, New York, USA – 19 Mar 2019

    On April 29 2019, Dentsu announced that the event was cancelled altogether, claiming that the reason was due to doubts regarding the festival’s ability to host a safe event for artists and customers alike, as an administrator of New York’s Schuyler County reported that the tickets could not be sold because Woodstock had failed to get a mass gathering permit from the Department of Health. Despite this, the New York State Department of Health announced that the “cancellation announcement [was] not a result of the permit application pending with the Department,” admitting that “The Department was surprised to learn of [the] decision to cancel the event.”

    Woodstock still assured fans that the festival would go according to plan without Dentsu, and on May 6, co-creator of Woodstock Michael Lang claims that Dentsu “illegally swept approximately $17 million from the festival bank account” and tried to persuade artists into dropping out of the festival. Woodstock asked for a court order shortly after demanding that Dentsu refund the festival the $17.8 million. Dentsu disputed their claims, and the Supreme Court of New York’s order on May 15 said that although Dentsu could not cancel Woodstock 50, they owed the festival nothing.

    Now, over a year later, the Woodstock 50 organizers have officially filed a lawsuit against Dentsu for “sabotage” despite the previous court decision. The suit claims that Dentsu’s decision to pull out of the event had “nothing to do with any alleged breaches by Woodstock 50, but rather to avoid the potential that the Festival would not make money or not be as successful as they hoped” even though Dentsu claimed that the decision to leave the festival was because of the lack of a proper permit. The plaintiff states that Woodstock 50 is entitled to “tens of millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages” as a result of Dentsu’s fraudulent behavior. The suit alleges that it was Dentsu’s intention from the start to “kill the festival.”

  • Bethel Woods Center for the Arts Annual Summer Concerts Cancelled Due to COVID-19

    Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, a non-profit organization which works to provide all with rich and diverse art through performances as well as education, has announced it has cancelled its annual Pavilion season.

    bethel woods cancelled
    Photo courtesy of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

    Since 2004, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has been holding Summer concerts at its outdoor pavilion. The performances would continue even under horrible circumstances: through “torrential rain, lightning, and squalls of wind,” Chief executive Eric Frances says.  However, due to the continued threat of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Pavillion stage would not open this year. This year’s set was supposed to include artists such as Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Norah Jones, and the Black Crowes.

    Although not all concert dates have been rescheduled yet, some have announced plans to perform in 2021. Frances announces that Bethel Woods is still “[looking] to provide alternative programming throughout this year” by “utilizing [their] amazing venue in a responsible manner” even in this time of uncertainty. Bethel Woods is looking forward to being able to open their museum exhibits, the event gallery, and their outdoor augmented reality tour as soon as it is safe to do so. 

    Photo courtesy of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.

    As Bethel Woods Center for the Arts is a 501(3)c non-profit organization, all of their revenue comes though ticket sales and donations. Because their Summer sets are cancelled, Bethel Woods could be in financial trouble. To encourage otters to participate, its Board of Trustees has graciously offered to match each each donation which is given to Bethel to increase finances. 

    In the video in which Frances announces this unhappy news, he delivers and important message to the public: with the upcoming 51st anniversary of Woodstock, its original message of the “strength in unifying for peace” is crucial for everyone to remember right now. It is more important than ever to remember that “we are one.”

  • CMAC Cancels 2020 Summer Concert Season

    CMAC (Constellation Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center) announces the cancellation of their 2020 summer concert season due to COVID-19. This decision was not made lightly but the safety of their staff, patrons, performers, and community is the priority. They are working to reschedule most of their summer 2020 performances currently. 

    Lynyrd Skynyrd performing Free Bird at CMAC in 2019.

    The performing arts center was founded in 1983 by Marvin Sands. He believed it was needed in the Canandaigua community because of the important role that arts and culture play in the quality of the community. CMAC still lives up to that role today providing arts and culture to the community. This year is just a pause, not the end of anything for CMAC. 

    CMAC is working to have their cancelled and postponed 2020 dates moved to the 2021 season. Cancelled shows include: Trey Anastasio Band, Old Domino, Brandi Carlile, Collective Soul, Tim McCraw, Norah Jones, Steve Martin and Martin Short. Postponed shows include: RATT, Luke Combs, and The Final Tour Ever with Kiss. They have already rescheduled two shows for 2021. Tedeschi Trucks Band was rescheduled for June 30, 2021 and Thomas Rhett for August 22, 2021. 

    For more information on CMAC and their events visit their website. For more information and to purchase tickets for Tedeschi Trucks Band click here or Thomas Rhett click here.

  • Tumbledown cancels 2020 event

    In a statement on Facebook, organizers of the two-day event held within the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival, have announced that the 2020 Tumbledown edition is cancelled, due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

    It comes with great sadness that as a result of COVID-19, Tumble Down 2020 is cancelled. This was our Sweet Number 5 and we were so excited to drop an amazing lineup this year. We promise that we are working on something very special that we will be announcing very soon. There isn’t much that hurts us more than canceling our favorite event of the year, in our home town with all of you, but unfortunately we have no choice.

    Refunds will be issued automatically to everyone at point of purchase. However there may be some delays, so please be patient. Please contact box@highergroundmusic.com if you have questions or concerns.

    We love you, stay safe and healthy and we will get through this together – 
    .

    Tumbledown 2020 has been a staple of Burlington summers since 2016, with Vermont’s own Twiddle headlining both days of the festival. The event grew into the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival in 2017 with shows bookending Tumbledown for a four-day event that drew thousands to the Lake Champlain waterfront from around the Northeast. Check out our coverage from 2019 here.