While there are a lot of promising signs in the current touring landscape — from the successful rollouts of the Rolling Loud and Lollapalooza festivals to major events like Bonnaroo and ACL Fest remaining on the fall schedule — there are plenty of examples of the surging COVID-19 pandemic’s toll on an already-struggling industry.
Because there are near-daily announcements of cancellations and postponements, we’re keeping track of the latest in this updating list. Below, find all the 2021 concerts and festivals that have been canceled or rescheduled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (These are listed in descending order of announcement, so find the latest cancellations at the very top.)
Garth Brooks
Citing concerns about the surge in COVID-19 cases across the country, Garth Brooks announced Aug. 18 he was canceling the next five cities on his stadium tour a month after he had returned to the road. The five concert locations being canceled are Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati (Sept. 18), Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte (Sept. 25), M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore (Oct. 2), Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. (Oct.9), and Nissan Stadium in Nashville, which has not been rescheduled after being rained out last month.
Bluesfest
Australia’s Bluesfest was rescheduled again on Aug. 18, due to outbreaks of the highly infectious delta variant in New South Wales and elsewhere. Bluesfest will now happen April 15-18, 2022, at its regular site on Byron Events Farm.
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett was slated to play shows in New York, Maryland, Connecticut, Arizona, Oklahoma and Canada in the fall and winter, but the 95-year-old singer instead announced his retirement from touring on Aug. 13, following his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2016.
Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks announced Aug. 10 that she will no longer tour for the rest of 2021 due to rising COVID-19 cases across the U.S. She was previously slated to perform at the Jazz Aspen Festival in Colorado and BottleRock Napa Valley in California over Labor Day weekend (Sept. 3-5) and both weekends of Austin City Limits in Texas (Oct. 1-3 and Oct. 8-10).
Limp Bizkit
On Aug. 9, ’90s nu-metal band Limp Bizkit‘s announced the decision to pull the plug on their Limited Last Minute Post Pandemic Popup Party Edition tour. “We are all in this together, and we all — individually and as a whole — have to make our best efforts to be as responsible and proactive as possible moving forward to combat and stop spreading COVID,” frontman Fred Durst said in an interview with Billboard.
New Orleans Jazz Fest
Organizers of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — which was scheduled to take place over two weekends from Oct. 8-10 and Oct. 15-17 — announced the event’s cancellation on Aug. 8, citing safety and health concerns related to COVID-19.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
On Aug. 7, Lynyrd Skynyrd pulled out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame concert (set for Aug. 9) after guitarist Rickey Medlocke tested positive for COVID-19. The band also suspended shows in Jackson, Mississippi; Atlanta; and Cullman, Alabama, with the Aug. 13 show in Atlanta rescheduled for Oct. 23.
Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé announced Aug. 6 that he was postposing 10 tour dates — scheduled between Aug. 13 and 28 — to October. “I do not want to put my fans at risk, nor my band and crew, by putting them in a situation that could possibly affect their health and therefore their friends and family,” Bublé said in a statement.
Movement Detroit
After canceling their planned electronic music event in May, Movement Detroit announced Aug. 2 that there won’t be a rescheduled festival until 2022.
Bigsound Conference and Music Fest
The 2021 edition of the Bigsound Conference and Music Festival was canceled July 19 due to the lockdown measures currently in place across Australia. The event — set for Sept. 7-9 — had announced a lineup of speakers including punk rock legend Henry Rollins and #MeToo founder Tarana Burke.
Dierks Bentley Seven Peaks Festival
Dierks Bentley’s Seven Peaks Music Festival was canceled July 9 “due to current capacity restrictions in place by local health officials,” organizers announced. However, officials in Chaffee County, Colorado, claim the festival failed to obtain permit approval in advance of selling tickets.
Deftones & Gojira
On July 9, Deftones and Gojira announced rescheduled dates for their planned 2021 tour, which was supposed to kick off in August. The trek will now start in April 2022.
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland organizers announced June 23 that they were canceling the 2021 fest after local officials denied a permit to hold the two-weekend event in Boom, Belgium, which typically draws up to 75,000 visitors a day over its six days.
Roskilde Festival
The 2021 edition of Roskilde Festival, one of Europe’s premier summer music fests, was scrapped on May 4. This year’s outdoor event was booked across eight days from June 26 to July 3, with a lineup featuring The Strokes, Tyler, The Creator, Faith No More, Haim, DaBaby, Deftones, Doja Cat, Fontaines D.C., Megan Thee Stallion and many more.
Burning Man
Burning Man was canceled for 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic and instead plans to return in 2022, the organization announced April 27. The event would have been held the week before Labor Day in Black Rock City, Nevada.
Rage Against the Machine & Run the Jewels
Rage Against the Machine and Run the Jewels had a PSA for concertgoers on April 8: Their Public Service Announcement Tour has been postponed until next spring.
Roger Waters
On April 8, new summer 2022 dates were announced for Roger Waters’ This Is Not a Drill tour, which was originally scheduled to kick off in July 2020, but was waylaid by the global pandemic.
BST Hyde Park
London’s BST Hyde Park festival was canceled on March 30. Duran Duran and Pearl Jam were both set to headline and organizers said they will return for the 2022 event.
Rock Am Ring, Rock Im Park
Germany’s Rock Am Ring, Rock Im Park was postponed (again), this time to 2022, on March 10. “We’re sorry to announce today that, just like last year, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park 2021 will have to be canceled due to COVID-19,” organizers said in a statement. In May, it was announced that Green Day and Volbeat will lead the 2022 lineup.
Cincinnati Music Festival
On March 8, Cincinnati Music Festival organizers decided to postpone the July 22-24-scheduled event until next year, to July 21-23, 2022. The festival was also postponed in 2020.
Primavera Sound
The 2021 Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona — set for June 2-6 — was canceled on March 2. The 20th-anniversary edition was set to feature headline sets from The Jesus and Mary Chain, Tame Impala, Massive Attack, Pavement, The Strokes, The National, Beck, Tyler, the Creator, Gorillaz, Bad Bunny and more.
CMA Fest
For the second year in a row, on March 2, the Country Music Association canceled CMA Fest, its annual June four-day event that takes over many Nashville venues, including Nissan Stadium, due to COVID-19. The fest is slated to return in 2022.
Lightning in a Bottle
Lightning in a Bottle organizers The Do Lab announced March 1 that the longstanding California festival, which takes place annually on Memorial Day weekend, was canceled for 2021.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift canceled her Lover Fest shows on Feb. 26. Originally announced in the fall of 2019, following the release of her seventh studio album Lover, Lover Fest was set to include 12 dates across the globe, including two-night stints in Southern California — set to be the first-ever concert at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium — and outside Boston, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Aerosmith
On Feb. 23, Aerosmith once again rescheduled their 50th-anniversary European tour, originally set to start in June 2020 and then rescheduled to 2021, to new dates in 2022. “Due to current conditions and for the safety of our fans, the 2021 European Tour has been rescheduled to 2022,” the band said in a statement.
Boston Calling
The Boston Calling Music Festival was canceled for a second year in a row on Feb. 22. “After exploring all possible options for hosting Boston Calling this year, we have made the difficult decision in conjunction with local and state authorities to cancel the 2021 festival,” organizers said.
Houston Rodeo
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo canceled all of its entertainment events for 2021 on Feb. 3. The cancellation included the RODEOHOUSTON competitions, concerts and entertainment, carnival, and other attractions and activities, which had been rescheduled for May 4-23 due to the ongoing pandemic.
Coachella & Stagecoach
The planned April 2021 return of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach country music festival were canceled on Jan. 29. Both will return in April 2022. Planned Coachella headliners Travis Scott and Rage Against the Machine are set to return in 2022, with a third headliner to be announced, while the full Stagecoach lineup has been announced here.
Halsey
Halsey officially called off her long-postponed Manic World Tour on Jan. 24. “Safety is the priority. I wish things were different,” the singer captioned a screenshot of the announcement. “I love you. Dreaming of seeing your faces again.”
Ultra Music Festival
Organizers of the Ultra Music Festival requested that City of Miami officials approve their permit request to stage the event next year before making a formal cancellation announcement for 2021, according to a letter obtained by Billboard on Jan. 21. In May, organizers announced an agreement to settle tensions with the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, which will no longer seek to remove the event from Bayfront Park.
Glastonbury
The organizers of England’s Glastonbury Festival announced Jan. 21 that this year’s event has been canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The 50th anniversary of the British festival was due to be held in June 2020, with Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney among the planned headline acts, alongside Kendrick Lamar, Diana Ross, Lana Del Rey, Haim, Dizzee Rascal, Pet Shop Boys and Thom Yorke.
C2C: Country to Country Festival
C2C: Country to Country Festival, which features top-name country artists appearing over three days in London, Dublin and Glasgow, announced Jan. 21 that it was pulling the plug on this year’s edition, slated for March 12-14.
The 1975
The 1975 announced Jan. 12 that they have canceled all their 2021 shows out of an abundance of caution. “We are really sorry to announce that we have made the decision to cancel all scheduled touring for 2021,” said the band in a statement.
Bunbury Festival
The Cincinnati festival canceled its event a second time on Jan. 11, after missing the 2020 installment as well. “Canceling once, let alone twice, is the last thing we want to do,” organizers said in a statement.
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