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Coachella Postponed Over Coronavirus Fears, Multiple Sources Confirm

This article is more than 4 years old.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been postponed over coronavirus concerns, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation have confirmed. The dates will be shifted from the weekends of April 10 and 17 to the weekends of October 9 and 16. Representatives for Coachella did not respond to requests for comment.

Although more details will surely follow, the basic notion of canceling or pushing back the festival had been heavily rumored within music industry circles as the coronavirus outbreak worsened. When South By Southwest was officially quashed this past Friday, it seemed inevitable that Coachella would be next.

The news follows a cascade of coronavirus-related cancellations throughout the music business and beyond. A slew of acts including Green Day and BTS canceled dates in Asia, and Miami’s Ultra Music Festival was one of the first U.S. casualties ahead of SXSW. This week, Seattle-based Pearl Jam canceled its North American arena tour, which had been scheduled to start March 18 in Toronto and end in Oakland on April 19.

“Having no examples of our national health department’s ability to get ahead of this, we have no reason to believe that it will be under control in the coming weeks,” the band explained over Twitter.

The broader music business seems similarly shaken, and rightfully so. As the weather warms, the touring season typically heats up—this year, concert giant Live Nation expects 70% of its attendance in the second half of the year. With every spring cancellation, the chance of a strong summer shrinks more.

Although recorded music would seem to be better insulated from a pandemic risk than live music, it’s certainly not immune to coronavirus turmoil.

“We’re beginning to see it affect the entire music ecosystem,” said one prominent artist manager in the wake of SXSW’s cancellation. “We’re getting calls from our agents about promoters canceling individual shows. Songwriters and producers have canceled flights into L.A. for sessions, so it’s starting to trickle down to the songwriting and production communities as well.”

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