Announcement comes after WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic
The COVID-19 coronavirus made its first large impact in Knoxville on Wednesday when Big Ears Festival announced the cancellation of its 2020 iteration. While there are no known cases of the virus in the city, the threat of potentially exposing audiences to the growing concern proved too great a risk for the festival to move forward as planned, both for local residents and for those traveling from around the world.
This comes just hours after the illness was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization and one day after the organizers of Coachella and StageCoach postponed their events until October due to uncertainty about its spread. No one knows what future events may be affected by the virus, but promoters of large events around the world are using an abundance of caution with regard to their plans.
The following statement was issued by Ashley Capps, the founder of AC Entertainment and Big Ears:
It has become clear that we must cancel Big Ears 2020, scheduled for the weekend of Thursday, March 26 thru Sunday, March 29.
Just 48 hours ago, we were optimistic that there was a path forward; but with events surrounding COVID-19 developing rapidly along with the obvious need for urgent steps to contain its spread, we simply cannot move forward with the festival as scheduled.
This has been a tough decision. Not only is the principle that “the show must go on” woven into our DNA, but the impact of this cancellation on the community that makes Big Ears possible — the artists, the festival attendees, our staff and production teams, and the Knoxville community with all of its businesses and workers — cannot be overstated.
We will be offering refunds to all ticket purchasers (assuming you purchased your tickets from our authorized vendor, Front Gate). Within the next day or two, we will be emailing ticket holders with information about the process for securing your refund.
We are grateful to those of you who have inquired about converting your ticket purchase to a tax-deductible donation. This is indeed possible and we will include details about that option as well.
We are very grateful for the kind words and support that we have received from so many of you. We believe in Albert Ayler’s proclamation that “music is the healing force of the universe” with all of our heart and soul. A mere two weeks ago, the New York Times called Big Ears “…one of the world’s greatest music bashes.” We will be back to live up to that accolade as soon as we possibly can. At the moment, it is too early for us to assess if we may be able to reschedule the festival for sometime later in 2020; for now, we need to pause and refocus.
These are difficult times. We urge you to stay healthy and do whatever you can to help one another and to make this a better world. We’re counting on you.
Please stay in touch.
Peace and love,
Ashley Capps
Founder / Executive Director of Big Ears Festival
