In 2021, Weather — Not COVID — Cancels Bonnaroo

One of Tennessee’s largest music festivals, Bonnaroo, is canceled because of flooded grounds.

“We are absolutely heartbroken to announce that we must cancel Bonnaroo,” the festival wrote on Twitter Tuesday afternoon. “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.”

Rain has been washing over Middle Tennessee as remnants of Hurricane Ida sweep in from the south. The festival was already offering refunds, saying the weather would force them to limit crowds.

But in the end, Bonnaroo determined the amount of rainfall made it too unsafe to host up to 80,000 people at its grounds in Manchester.

Fans who purchased their tickets through Front Gate Tickets will be able to get a refund within the month. While they may be disappointed, the cancellation means a major monetary loss for vendors who already flew to Tennessee for the event.

“For some of us, this was the first chance to show our art and make some money for the first time in over a year and a half,” says artist Terrance Ryan, who flew in Saturday from San Francisco. “It’s a little soul crushing at the moment but, man, Mother Nature.”

Ryan makes screen-printed concert posters using the name “Lil Tuffy.” He says he hopes to set up a pop-up shop in Nashville to recoup some of his losses.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to set something up,” he says, “and have a little bit of a recovery.”

The cancellation is also a financial loss for the state of Tennessee. An economic impact analysis done on the 2019 Bonnaroo festival shows that it accounted for $52 million  for the state.

This is the second year in a row that Bonnaroo was canceled — although last year the cancellation was due to the pandemic. This year, the festival was going to require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test for entry.