The Stagecoach festival, an annual country festival held in Southern California originally scheduled for April and later postponed until October, has been canceled entirely for 2020. The announcement came when Riverside County public health officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser stated that both Stagecoach and Coachella would take place next year at the earliest.
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"The Coachella Valley Music and Artist Festival and the Stagecoach Country Music Festival are hereby cancelled for the calendar year 2020 ... as a result of the worldwide epidemic of COVID-19 disease," the order reads.
How the virus would impact live music events first hit fans on March 6 when the Austin, Texas-based South By Southwest (SXSW) conference got cancelled, impacting an untold number of musicians, filmmakers and others.
Here's a quick rundown of country-related festivals, tours and other public gatherings that've been impacted so far.
2020 CMT Awards
The 2020 CMT Awards were moved from June 3 to October 14, 2020 due to the pandemic.
"Our top priority this last month has been rebuilding our hometown of Nashville following the tornado and ensuring the safety of our fans, employees, artists and partners during the COVID-19 crisis. As we look forward to celebrating country music's biggest stars together with our community and viewers, we will continue to follow the guidance of the CDC and local public health officials," reads a statement from CMT.
2020 CMA Fest
CMA Fest, an annual event that dates back to its 1972 origins as Fan Fair, has been cancelled for the first time ever due to concerns over the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The 2020 edition of CMA Fest was scheduled for June 4-7. The event returns next year, June 10-13, 2021.
2020 ACM Awards
The 2020 Academy of Country Music awards, originally scheduled for April 5, have been postponed until September.
"The ACM Awards is a tentpole event for our Country Music industry, and the Academy of Country Music and dick clark productions went to great lengths to find a safe solution for the show to go on so that we can honor our artist community," ACM CEO Damon Whiteside said in a statement released on Sunday (March 15). "This decision involved many partners, stakeholders and the industry who we have been in constant conversations with over the past several days as the situation has developed. We look forward to identifying a future date that we can celebrate with our Country community safely."
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
On Wednesday, March 11, officials announced that the remainder of the Houston Rodeo, which was to run through March 22, was cancelled due to coronavirus concerns.
The concert lineup impacted by the cancellation includes such heavy-hitting entertainers as Kane Brown, Cody Johnson, Lizzo, Jon Pardi, Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Khalid, Gwen Stefani, Chris Stapleton, Marshmello, Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley and others.
Performers appearing on one of Texas' biggest stages before March 11 included Willie Nelson, Chance the Rapper, Ramon Ayala, K-Pop act NCT 127, Becky G, Midland, Chris Young and Maren Morris.
C2C Festival
The 2020 C2C festival, a three-day event held in Dublin, Ireland; London, England; and Glasgow, Scotland, was canceled for the year. It's been rescheduled for March 12-14, 2021.
Tin Pan South
This songwriters' showcase, originally slated for March 24-28, will be rescheduled.
"After heavy consideration, in light of the tornado this week as well as growing health concerns over the Coronavirus, we have decided to reschedule Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival to later this year, in the Summer," said NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International) Executive Director Bart Herbison. "We feel this is the responsible decision, and it is supported by Tin Pan venues and sponsors involved in the festival. We want to thank everyone who had planned to participate in or attend the festival, and appreciate the support in rescheduling it."
This article was originally published on March 12. It was updated on June 11, 2020. This story is still developing and will be updated as new information becomes available.
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