Coachella music festival postponed due to coronavirus

LOS ANGELES: The Coachella music festival has been postponed from its usual two-weekend-run in April to October due to growing concerns about coronavirus.

The festival’s producer Goldenvoice made the announcement and also confirmed that Stagecoach, a country music festival, will also be postponed. Coachella, held in Southern California, will now take place on October 9-11 and Oct. 16-18, while Stagecoach will take place from October 23-25.

“At the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities, we must sadly confirm the rescheduling of Coachella and Stagecoach due to COVID-19 concerns. While this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously. We urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials,” Goldenvoice said in a statement.

The company said all passes for original dates will be honored for the rescheduled shows, and customers will be notified by Friday on how to obtain a refund if they cannot attend.

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Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, and Rage Against the Machine, were originally announced as headliners of Coachella. Others announced to perform included Calvin Harris, Lana Del Rey, Thom Yorke, 21 Savage, Disclosure, Summer Walker, Lil Uzi Vert and FKA twigs. The organisers didn’t say if the performance lineup would change or stay intact.

Riverside County, which has six coronavirus cases, declared a public health emergency on Sunday. “No doubt it will impact many people, but my top priority is to protect the health of the entire community.” said Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser.

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— Coachella (@coachella) March 10, 2020

The move comes the same day Carlos Santana, Zac Brown Band and Pentatonix canceled concerts because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Santana said he had canceled the European tour dates of his Miraculous 2020 World Tour and that refunds will be available through point of purchase. The tour was scheduled to start March 17 in Poland.

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Pentatonix was also set to launch its world tour in Poland but posted a statement saying they would have to cancel the European leg of the tour.

“Despite our best efforts and intentions, it is, simply, no longer possible for us to execute this tour the way we want to: safely, confidently and completely,” the Grammy-winning group said in a statement.

Zac Brown Band said it was postponing the spring leg of its The Owl Tour, which would have kicked off Thursday in St. Louis.

“This was an extremely difficult decision, but the well-being of our fans is always our top priority,” the country group said in a statement. “We ask that our fans retain their tickets as they will be honored on the new dates. At this time, our “Roar With The Lions” Summer 2020 tour dates (commencing in May) will be performed as planned.”

They join a long list of singers who have canceled or postponed shows in the US and outside of the region, including Pearl Jam, Madonna, Ciara, BTS, Khalid, Mariah Carey, Green Day and more. The South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, has been canceled, and the Ultra electronic dance music festival in Miami has been postponed.