In what many in the music industry fear is a harbinger of things to come, Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam, a major country music festival set to go down Labor Day weekend in Florida, has been called off for t…
were slated as headliners for the three-day fest that would have gone down in Panama City, Florida Sept. 3-5. Organizers are characterizing it less as an outright cancellation than a postponement until next summer, although the “new” dates align with those that the city had already announced for the 2022 festival, next June 3-5.
Most festivals set for late summer and early fall are sticking with their plans, so far. But this past weekend, Jazz Fest, aka the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, led the way for possible dominos to follow in canceling its Oct. 8-17 gathering this fall and announcing new dates for April and May of 2022.
Naturally, not everyone who’d bought tickets for the festival was pleased about the festival being called off, and some on the event’s Facebook page accused organizers of giving in to allegedly liberal concerns. Some believe Panama City forced the festival’s hand by denying a permit based on the surge in infections, following guidelines put in place in May 2020 governing special events, though there has been no official word from the city.