CMA Fest canceled for second year in a row. Nashville festival plots 2022 return
CMA Fest, a summer country music tradition that brings thousands of fans to downtown Nashville, Tennessee, remains benched for summer 2021 because of COVID-19 precautions.
The Country Music Association announced the decision Tuesday afternoon. Organizers also postponed CMA Fest in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The event, considered one of the largest annual country music events in the world, was scheduled for June 10-13. Next year's target dates are June 9-12, 2022.
"We know our fans near and far have hoped that the festival could safely return this summer, and while we are encouraged to see COVID-19 vaccines becoming more widely available, we still face several challenges that prevent us from bringing our fans around the world the CMA Fest experience they have come to expect," said a statement from the organization.
Concerts were supposed to return this year. Now, it looks like that won't happen until 2022
Ticket holders may roll over CMA Fest passes for 2022 or request a refund. More information on tickets should be delivered directly to customers within 24 to 48 hours via email from Ticketmaster or the CMA box office, according to the CMA.
Another summer without CMA Fest offers the latest blow in a pandemic that's wreaked havoc on entertainment and tourism revenue in Nashville.
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Typically, an estimated 80,000 congregate in downtown Nashville each year for CMA Fest, a one-of-a-kind event where entertainment ranges from stadium shows to intimate meet and greet performances. CMA Fest generated a record $65 million in economic impact in 2019, per the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp., and attendees traveled from 50 states and 37 countries for the four-day gathering.
And the return of large-scale concerts and festivals remains in flux, with the biggest events likely to return later than single-night amphitheater concerts or socially distanced theater shows. CMA Fest joins Coachella, Glastonbury and Ultra Festival in closing doors this year.
In a letter sent Tuesday to CMA members, CEO Sarah Trahern cited capacity restrictions, travel and the festival's multiple-venue footprint – spanning Nissan Stadium, Ascend Amphitheater and Music City Center – as an ongoing concern.
"We know that many of our performers and attendees will ask why we cannot reschedule our event to take place later in 2021, however, to produce CMA Fest at the scale we normally do requires a significant amount of advance planning and production," Trahern said in the letter. "Given the length of our production window, it was simply impossible to find an available window later this summer or into the fall."
Still, some bigger one-off shows could return to outdoor markets this summer, according to Michael Rapino, CEO of concert behemoth LiveNation. In an earnings call last week, Rapino said shows at 75% or more capacity in major markets this summer are “within sight."
Some Nashville clubs and theaters – such as Marathon Music Works, the Ryman Auditorium, Grand Ole Opry House, 3rd and Lindsley and City Winery – returned with limited capacity audiences last year. This week, Bridgestone Arena organizers announced a reduced capacity indoor event with comedian Mike Epps, the first entertainment offering from the venue since before COVID-19 cancellations.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: CMA Fest in Nashville canceled over COVID-19 for 2nd straight summer
