When the coronavirus pandemic hit the nation in March 2020, concerts and festivals were canceled and music tours were put on hold indefinitely. The 2020 CMA Fest was one of the victims of the pandemic as it was canceled for the year, but the Country Music Association did announce new dates for the 2021 event, set for June 10-13. Now with the festival just four months away, the Country Music Association has promised forthcoming news about the event.
In an statement shared to social media on Wednesday, February 10, the organization wrote, “We know many of you are eager to hear about this year’s CMA Fest. Stay tuned as we aim to share an update by mid-March. We miss our Country Music fans more than you can imagine.”
While fans are no doubt hoping CMA Fest continues this year as planned, a few festivals that hoped to open again in 2021 have already been canceled or postponed due to the ongoing pandemic. The C2C Festival, an event that runs every March in the UK and Ireland, was one of the first events to get cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak in March of 2020. At the time, the event organizers immediately updated fans with new dates for 2021, but those dates have since been canceled as well. Other festivals that have been canceled or postponed for 2021 include Stagecoach Festival and the Houston Rodeo.
On the other hand, some artists and venues are beginning to play shows in a safe and healthy manner. The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville is open for shows at limited capacity, and Miranda Lambert just announced a weekend of shows that will allow a limited audience at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth, Texas April 22-24.