Beach Road Weekend, the music festival that’s become a summertime staple on Martha’s Vineyard, will not take place this year. Organizers revealed April 8 that due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, holding the event safely as scheduled would be “extremely difficult.”
The annual bash was set for July 24-26 at Veterans Memorial Park at Vineyard Haven. Its 2020 lineup included Norah Jones, The Revivalists, Beck, Father John Misty, Lake Street Dive, Margo Price and more.
“We are saddened to announce the Town of Tisbury has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Beach Road Weekend Music Festival. Innovation Arts & Entertainment (IAE), the producers of the festival, completely support this decision,” reads an official statement. “The safety of our fans, partners, artists, and staff comes above all and it has become increasingly apparent over the last few weeks that it would be extremely difficult for us to host a safe event on Martha’s Vineyard in the midst of a Pandemic.”
Fans who previously purchased festival tickets and hotel packages will receive full refunds, and will be notified via email with refund information in the coming days.
“Beach Road Weekend 2020 had a critically acclaimed lineup, and we were excited to build on the great fan experience we developed last summer, so we are obviously disappointed not to be able to finish what we started,” said Adam Epstein, CEO of Innovation Arts & Entertainment. “But, we need to make sure that resources to deal with this pandemic are available for the people of Martha’s Vineyard, and also to ensure the personal safety of everyone who would have attended, the artists scheduled to perform, and our incredible festival staff.”
It is hardly the first festival to be called off as the nation continues to grapple with the COVID-19 outbreak. But while many springtime gatherings have been pushed the fall, the growing cancellation of mid-summer events could indicate trouble for postponed events. Government and health officials saw early signals of the outbreak beginning to plateau in hard-hit areas this week, but maintain that fully returning to normal life will take more time.
