Festival News and Rumors
New COVID-19 Protective Suit Designed Specifically for Concerts and Festivals
As government officials begin planning how to reopen their states amid the coronavirus pandemic, music fans everywhere are wondering when, if at all, it will be safe to attend concerts again. While drive-in concerts and socially distanced shows, seem like sensible short-term alternatives, one company has taken upon itself to invent a more catch-all solution. Production Club usually spends its days working on “stages and experiences” for clients in gaming, technology, and music industries. After seeing news reports about people flooding to beaches without proper protection, though, the creative studio began brainstorming ways to help out their communities directly. They came up with the Micrashell, a protective suit people can wear to music festivals and clubs to prevent the ...
Israelis Stage Music Festival in Protest of Country’s COVID-19 Lockdown
Live music returned to Israel on Thursday, as over 3,000 people gathered in a park in Tel Aviv for an event called “Behind the Scenes: an Assembly of Solidarity”. Though technically billed as a protest, and not a concert, the event featured a dozen prominent Israeli artists performing on a large stage. Much like in America, Israel has been on a COVID-19 lockdown since mid-March, which has effectively shuttered the entertainment industry. Yesterday’s event served as a protest to encourage the government to reopen live events, according to Billboard. In order to stage such a large-scale mass gathering, organizers of the event exploited a loophole in Israel’s health regulations allowing for contained protests. Upon entering the park, attendees were asked to wear a face mask and keep six feet ...
Kendall Jenner Settles Fyre Festival Lawsuit, Ordered to Pay $90K
Remember when Fyre Festival seemed like the closest thing to the apocalypse? Kendall Jenner sure does, as she was sued over her involvement in the doomed festival back in December. Three years after the event was meant to take place, the 24-year-old model can finally put the ordeal behind her — and it’ll only cost her $90,000. Along with a number of musicians and influencers, Jenner was sued by Gregory Messer, the trustee in charge of the bankruptcy for Fyre Media, co-founded by Fyre Fest mastermind and disgraced entrepreneur scam artist Billy McFarland. The lawsuits are aiming to recover the reported $14.4 million McFarland spent planning the luxury festival. $275,000 of that sum was paid to Jenner for a single Instagram post promoting the event, something the trustee argued amounted...
Florida to Host First Drive-In Music Festival
With large-scale indoor group gatherings effectively prohibited for the foreseeable future, drive-in-style outdoor events have emerged as a popular alternative. Everyone from Live Nation to Donald Trump is planning such events, which would allow attendees to watch live entertainment while practicing social distancing from the safety of their vehicle. In fact, a few drive-in concerts have already been announced: EDM producer Marc Rebillet has set a seven-date drive-in tour, while the Texas Rangers are hosting a series of country music shows in their stadium’s parking lot. Now comes word of the “first-ever” drive-in music festival. Carnage has announced The Road Rave, which he’s calling “North America’s first-ever drive-in festival of the COVID era.” It goes down June 6th...
Slipknot, Coheed and Cambria, and KISS Cruises Rescheduled for 2021
Slipknot (photo by Raymond Ahner); Coheed and Cambria (photo by Thaib A. Wahab); KISS (photo by Kevin RC Wilson Planned 2020 rock cruises led by Slipknot, Coheed and Cambria, and KISS have all been postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as announced Thursday by the events’ producer Sixthman. A number of the production company’s other cruises and vacation festivals have also been moved to next year. Slipknot had already announced that their Knotfest at Sea cruise would be postponed, but now some specific details have been revealed. Instead of setting sail from Barcelona, Spain, as it was scheduled to do this August, Knotfest at Sea will now depart from Athens, Greece in August 2021. Exact dates will be announced shortly. In addition to Slipknot, the 2020 lineup was to feature Be...
Electric Daisy Carnival Announces Virtual Rave-A-Thon
EDM mega fest Electric Daisy Carnival has announced a new Virtual Rave-A-Thon. This livestream will take place May 15th, 16th, and 17th, with donations benefitting coronavirus relief charities. Across two “stages”, or unique Twitch and YouTube channels, the Virtual Rave-A-Thon will see performances from Afrojack, David Guetta, Flosstradamus, Kaskade, TOKiMONSTA, Zeds Dead, and more. EDC founder Pasquale Rotella will be hosting the event, as well as conducting interviews and interacting with fans at home. Other acts will include 12th Planet, AC Slater, ARMNHMR, ATLiens, Benny Benassi, Boombox Cartel, Borgore, Chris Lorenzo, Claude VonStroke, Deorro, Dombresky, Don Diablo, Duke Dumont, Ekali, Headhunterz, i_o, JSTJR, K?D, KSHMR, Lee Foss, Malaa, NGHTMRE b2b Ghastly, Nicole Moudaber, Oli...
Primavera Sound 2020 Canceled Due to COVID-19
Primavera Sound 2020 has been officially canceled. The Barcelona, Spain music festival was originally scheduled for June 3rd-7th, but was postponed until August 26th-30th in light of the ongoing pandemic. Now, the 2020 event has been completely called off. “We are devastated and are terribly sorry for the inconvenience caused, but the health and well-being of our festivalgoers and all of the people involved in the festival has always been and is still our absolute priority,” Primavera Sound said in a statement addressing the “most difficult decision in it history.” Editors’ Picks The festival’s original 2020 lineup included Pavement, The Strokes, Massive Attack, and Lana Del Rey. Tyler, the Creator, The National, Beck, Bauhaus, and Bikini Kill were also slated to perform. While the c...
Fearless Records and Century Media Each Announce Streaming Festivals
Two record labels specializing in heavy music are giving their bands a platform to perform for fans during the pandemic. Fearless Records is staging an “At Home” live-streaming event on May 9th, while Century Media is holding the “Isolation Festival” on May 14th. The Fearless event will feature acoustic performances from The Pretty Reckless, who just inked a new deal with the label, plus As It Is, Grayscale, Ice Nine Kills, Locket, Plain White T’s, Set It Off, The Almost, The Plot In You, and Wage War. In addition, there’ll be appearances from members of All That Remains, August Burns Red, Capstan, Eat Your Heart Out, iDKHOW, I Prevail, Kill the Lights, Movements, My Kid Brother, Oceans Ate Alaska, Starset, The Word Alive, Underoath, Varials, and Volumes. “Fearless At Home” begins at 3:00 ...
Psycho Las Vegas Festival Won’t Take Place in 2020 Due to COVID-19 Pandemic
The Psycho Las Vegas festival will no longer take place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, organizers hope to have most of the scheduled acts return for the 2021 edition of the multi-day event at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. This year’s edition, slated for August 13th-16th, was set to feature Danzig, Mercyful Fate, Emperor, The Flaming Lips, Blue Öyster Cult, Down, Mayhem, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and many more acts. According to a statement from organizers, “nearly all bands have signed on for the new dates but we are awaiting confirmation from one final artist before presenting our updated lineup.” Those new dates, which include the Psycho Swim pre-party, run August 19th-22th, 2021. Technically, the event is being rescheduled, which means ticket holders can us...
