Carolina Country Music Fest will be postponed until September, organizers confirmed Wednesday. The four-day event was slated to take over South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach June 4-7 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will now take place September 17-20.
“We are grateful for the collaboration from all involved who have worked with us tirelessly to reschedule CCMF for September,” festival president Bob Durkin said in a statement. “Working to move this year’s festival to the fall was uncharted territory for all involved, including artists, their management, local government officials and the Myrtle Beach community. We appreciate everyone’s flexibility and we are excited that we will still be able to have CCMF this year.“
Headliners Darius Rucker, Luke Combs, Eric Church and Jake Owen are confirmed for the new fall dates. However, the lineup will see a few changes. Previously scheduled performers like Jon Pardi, Maddie & Tae and Mitchell Tenpenny are no longer able to play Carolina Country Music Fest, but will be replaced by Lauren Alaina, Joe Nichols, Jordan Davis and more. Organizers have also teased a surprise announcement to come.
Also noticeably absent from the fall festival is Joe Diffie. The country great was set to take the stage at CCMF but tragically passed last week of complications from COVID-19. He was 61. To honor him, organizers are leaving his name on the lineup and planning to pay musical tribute.
Carolina Country Music Fest is the latest in a string of gatherings to be pushed to the fall. In particular, it joins other country-specific festivals like Stagecoach, Country Thunder, and Tortuga Music Festival – all of which were forced to reschedule to later in the year. Nashville’s CMA Fest, on the other hand, cancelled its 2020 edition entirely before ever getting a chance to reveal the official lineup.
