Seven Peaks Music Festival has been cancelled, with Live Nation pinning the decision on local officials’ not being willing to expand their capacity restriction on attendance. The decision was shared last week via social media.
The event was scheduled to feature Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban and a slew of other acts over Labor Day Weekend in Buena Vista, Colorado. Tickets to the event had been sold already, but anticipated relaxation of the 5,000-spectator limit for the event by the county wasn’t in the cards.
“Seven Peaks Music Festival is being cancelled for 2021 due to current capacity restrictions in place by local health officials,” reads the event website announcement of the cancellation. “We are already planning for 2022, and a new location will be announced in the coming months. Stay tuned for details.”
Live Nation had lobbied the Chaffee County Board of Health in recent weeks to remove the capacity limit. But the board unanimously voted against that action. In its decision, the officials cited “continuing concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and especially the Delta variant which is proving more infectious than earlier forms of the virus.”
Buena Vista is a small town nestled amid the Rocky Mountains, approximately 95 miles west of Colorado Springs.
Prior to that decision, Live Nation had attempted to convince authorities of a smaller-scale version of their festival than initially planned.
Live Nation submitted an amended Seven Peaks Special Event application to Chaffee County on Tuesday, July 7, 2021, which incorporated Tenderfoot Transmitting, Inc. as the event sponsor and reduced the proposed event size to 17,000 spectators, 500 staff, and 200 participants. The Chaffee County BOCC has not officially reviewed nor denied the pending 2021 Seven Peaks application for the event proposed for Sept. 3 to 5. It continues to be scheduled for review at a public hearing with the BOCC at 9:00 a.m. Wed., July 14, unless withdrawn prior to that time.
Reports indicate that well over 6,000 tickets had already been sold for the event, despite county officials not approving anything beyond 5,000 fans for any event.
Those who had purchased tickets will be fully refunded within 30 days to their original method of payment. Those who purchased tickets from secondary marketplaces should contact their point of purchase to determine their options for a refund or credit.
