Country Music Events Canceled or Postponed Due to Coronavirus

The WHO officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic this week after over 100,000 cases have been confirmed worldwide, with high concentrations of the virus in Italy, South Korea and China. The virus has also made its way to the United States with over 1,000 confirmed cases, prompting the cancellation and postponement of a number of events including sports games, movie releases and more.

Several music festivals and concerts have also been rescheduled, many such announcements coming this week. Scroll through to see what’s been affected in country music so far.

C2C: Country to Country

According to Belfast Live, the Dublin portion of the annual event has been postponed after a directive from the Irish government to cancel all indoor events over a 100-person capacity and all outdoor events over a 500-person capacity until March 29. C2C was scheduled to be held in London, Glasgow and Dublin from March 13-15. In addition, the festival tweeted on March 12 that the CMA Songwriters Series event at Indigo at the O2 in London, England scheduled for Thursday night has been canceled.

The Houston Rodeo

This year’s Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo began on March 3 and already held many of its scheduled events including concerts from artists like Maren Morris and LSKJDf, but on Wednesday, March 11, the rodeo announced that it would be canceling all remaining events scheduled through the rodeo’s end date of March 22. That means scheduled concerts by a number of country artists including Kane Brown, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, John Pardi, and Cody Johnson will not take place. Arists from other genres were also affected by the cancellation including Lizzo and Gwen Stefani.

Stagecoach

The annual country festival held in Indio, California was scheduled for April of this year but will be postponed until October 23-25. This year’s headliners include Carrie Underwood, Eric Church and Thomas Rhett with performances by numerous other country artists. After the news was announced, Dan + Shay shared that they had to pull out of the lineup due to scheduling conflicts.

South by Southwest Festival

The annual SXSW music and tech festival in Austin, Texas was outright canceled earlier this month and will be the first time in 34 years the annual event does not take place. South by Southwest was scheduled for March 13-22 and was canceled after Austin Mayor Steve Adler declared a local disaster. It was estimated that the festival had a $356 million economic impact on the city of Austin last year.

Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival

This year’s Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival in Nashville has been rescheduled from March 24-28 to Summer 2020 due to both the recent tornadoes in the city and the coronavirus.

“After heavy consideration, in light of the tornado this week as well as growing health concerns over the Coronavirus, we have decided to reschedule Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival to later this year, in the summer,” NSAI executive director Bart Herbison in a statement, via Billboard. “We feel this is the responsible decision, and it is supported by Tin Pan venues and sponsors involved in the festival. We want to thank everyone who had planned to participate in or attend the festival, and appreciate the support in rescheduling it.”

Dan + Shay’s the (Arena) Tour

Dan + Shay began their Arena Tour with two nights in Nashville on March 6 and 7 and were scheduled to continue touring the country through the spring. Hours after they canceled their show in Philadelphia on March 12, the duo released a statement announcing the postponement of a slew of show dates, most of which are now rescheduled for July and August.

Chris Stapleton’s All-American Roadshow

Stapleton announced on Thursday that four March shows on his upcoming All-American Roadshow tour will be rescheduled, including a concert set for March 12 in Austin. “The health & well-being of our families & our communities is our number one priority,” read a statement the singer shared on social media. “With that in mind, we must reschedule the following shows.”

Kenny Chesney’s Chillaxification Tour

Chesney was set to head out on his Chillaxification Tour starting in April, but the singer has made the decision to postpone the first several dates of the trek including seven stadiums and four amphitheater shows through May 28. The tour is now scheduled to begin on May 30 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

“You can’t take risks without really understanding the consequences,” Chesney said in a statement. “In times of uncertainty, I won’t take chances with those I love. I can’t imagine, as much as we love being out there playing for the fans, being able to do that through the worry our nation is experiencing.”

The postponed dates include:

April 18           AT&T Stadium                                   Arlington, Texas
April 25           Miller Park                                          Milwaukee, Wisconsin
May 2              U.S. Bank Stadium                             Minneapolis, Minnesota               
May 7             iThink Financial Amphitheatre          West Palm Beach, Florida
May 9              Raymond James Stadium                   Tampa, Florida
May 13           BankPlus Amphitheater                      Southaven, Mississippi
May 14           Brandon Amphitheater                       Brandon, Mississippi
May 16            Mercedes-Benz Stadium                    Atlanta, Georgia
May 22            Minute Maid Park                               Houston, Texas
May 23            Alamodome                                        San Antonio, Texas
May 28           Blossom Music Center                       Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Zac Brown Band’s The Owl Tour

The Zac Brown Band announced on Wednesday that it will be postponing its spring The Owl Tour “out of caution and due to increasing public health concerns.” The band hit the road in February and has now rescheduled 13 shows including an April 25 stop in Nashville. Rescheduled dates will be announced “soon.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Boston Globe