Country music star Dierks Bentley had some sad news to share with fans on Instagram Friday. The 2021 Seven Peaks Festival in Buena Vista, Colorado was canceled after Chaffee County officials decided not to lift capacity restrictions put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. The country’s guidelines do not allow for gatherings of more than 5,000 people. Concert organizers were reportedly seeking a permit to allow up to 20,000 people to attend. Keith Urban and Old Crow Medicine Show were among the performers set for this year’s festival.
“I am so sorry to announce that we are going to have to cancel 7P for this year,” Bentley wrote in a statement posted on the festival’s website and social media pages. “I really could not be more bummed out about it. We tried everything to make it happen, but Chaffee County has decided against lifting capacity restrictions.”
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Bentley, who founded the festival in 2018, went on to thank the artists who were set to perform this year and fans for their support. “Really appreciate you guys hanging in there with us through the ups and downs of COVID,” Bentley wrote. “Together we built something very special and it’s going to be a big celebration when our 7P family is together again. We will be back!” Fans who bought passes will automatically receive a refund within 30 days. Organizers are now working on the 2022 festival, with a new location announced in “the coming months,” they said.
The announcement came a few days after the Chaffee Board of Health voted to keep its event cap at 5,000 people, the Ark Valley Voice reports. The 5,000 cap was put in place last month, expanding on the county’s previous 2,000 cap. Officials voted to keep the cap in place as the delta variant of the coronavirus has become prevalent in Colorado. Last month, Mesa County permitted the Country Jam music festival to be held, attracting thousands of fans. State health officials later declared the event the site of a COVID outbreak after 13 attendees and four staffers were infected, reports the Denver Post.
While 70% of Colorado residents are vaccinated, Chaffee County only has a 62.4% vaccination rate. “It’s like sitting between two stools if you look at the current trends,” county commissioner Kieth Baker told the Ark Valley Voice. “First [close to] 70 percent nationwide… but the number of people totally vaccinated is 46 percent. One of the things that concern me is these states adjacent to us are among the worst states for vaccinations. If you look at the state vaccination doses per 100,000 people, we are one of the worst. On a per-capita basis, we are not doing that well in the U.S.” Baker later noted that he is “reluctant to be complicit in helping extend the lifespan of this virus.”
