San Francisco Outside Lands Promoters Cancel 2020 Music Festival Over COVID-19 Concerns, Announce 2021 Line-Up
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- After holding out hopes for months, promoters for San Francisco's Outside Lands music festival announced Wednesday they were cancelling the 2020 event over concerns related to the COVID-19 outbreak.
While San Francisco officials have been slowly rolling back restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the virus, it remained doubtful gatherings as large of the thousands who annually flock to Golden Gate Park for the festival would be allowed.
"We would love nothing more than to be with you this August, listening to our favorite artists in Golden Gate Park and celebrating the best of the Bay Area for our 13th consecutive Outside Lands," promoters said in a social post. "After lengthy discussions with local and state health authorities about the impact of COVID-19 both in our community and throughout the world, we believe it is in the best interest of everyone's health and safety that Outside Lands not be held in 2020."
Outside Lands became just the latest major music festival sidelined this year by the virus. After first rescheduling their events to the fall, organizers of Coachella and Stagecoach festivals in Southern California also decided to cancel their 2020 events.
Among the other festivals that have been cancelled include the San Francisco's Stern Grove free concert series, the Treasure Island Music Festival, Woodstock 50 and OZY Fest.
"In what has been a disappointing year for concertgoers and the music industry alike, Outside Lands is looking to the future," promoters said "We all miss the much-needed community and positivity that comes with our annual celebration in San Francisco and we look forward to bringing the music back in 2021. We are filled with excitement, hope, and anticipation as we announce our lineup for NEXT year's festival, returning August 6-8, 2021."
The promoters also were not waiting long to lure fans back, announcing ticket sales for 2021 would begin on Thursday. Acts for next year's festival include headliners Tame Impala, Lizzo, Tyler the Creator, The Strokes and J. Balvin. Organizers said tickets already sold for the 2020 festival would be honored in 2021. More information on the newly announced line-up and ticket sales is available at the SF Outside Lands website.
