Bonnaroo organizers cancel 2021 festival

By CHUCK MORRIS, CAMERON TAYLOR

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    MANCHESTER, TN (WSMV) — Bonnaroo organizers announced Tuesday the 2021 music festival has been canceled because of excessive rainfall received as part of the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

“It was going to be my first one. I’ve never been. I was so excited,” Sia Powers who was planning to attend Bonnaroo said.

Sia and Jonas Powers will now have to wait until 2022. The couple drove in from upstate New York a few days ago.

“It really goes with the vibe of the last year and a half, the last two years. It’s just kind of like, ok, yeah, another thing. Makes sense,” Jonas Powers said.

“We are absolutely heartbroken to announce that we must cancel Bonnaroo,” event organizers said in a social media post. “While this weekend’s weather looks outstanding, currently Centeroo is waterlogged in many areas, the ground is incredibly saturated on our tollbooth paths, and the campgrounds are flooded to the point that we are unable to drive in or park vehicles safely.

“We have done everything in our power to keep the show moving forward, but Mother Nature has dealt us a tremendous amount of rain over the past 24 hours, and we have run out of options to try to make the event happen safely and in a way that lives up to the Bonnaroo experience.”

“More than the financial impact, it’s just the safety of the citizens that were coming here,” Marilyn Howard, Mayor of Manchester said.

Numbers given to News4 from the city said the festival brings in around $1.2 million in sales taxes to Coffee County. That makes up about a quarter of the county’s sales tax money for the year.

Mayor Howard shared what she told organizers after the call had been made to cancel.

“I’m sad, but I honor your call,” Mayor Howard said.

For festival-goers like Powers, he’s making the most of his trip.

“We look for whoever is having the party instead, basically,” Powers said.

Bonnaroo officials said, “We will see you on the farm in June 2022.” The organizers also urged ticketholders to “find ways to safely gather with your Bonnaroo community and continue to radiate positivity during this disappointing time.”

All tickets purchased through Front Gate Tickets will be refunded in as little as 30 days to the original method of payment.

Festival organizers announced Monday that camping capacity at the farm would be reduced because of anticipated rainfall and offered refunds for tickets and accommodations to anyone who wanted.

Tickets for 2021 will not be rolled over to 2022 and refunds will be issued, according to Bonnaroo’s website. Bonnaroo allowed ticket holder to roll over tickets purchased for 2020 to this year’s festival.

This is the second straight year the festival has been canceled. The 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s festival was delayed until this weekend from its usual June dates because of the pandemic.

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