Getty As COVID-19 continues to spread across the US, Stagecoach 2020 will likely be the next big event cancelled or postponed in an effort to prevent addition outbreak.
As COVID-19 continues to spread across the US, it looks like Stagecoach 2020 will be the next big event canceled or postponed in an effort to prevent additional outbreaks. According to TMZ, coronavirus fears have put a halt on both Stagecoach and Coachella‘s festival dates.
TMZ was first to report that both Coachella and Stagecoach had been rescheduled with new dates for fall 2020, once the coronavirus will have hopefully stopped spreading across the globe. The new dates for Stagecoach 2020 are anticipated to be October 23-25. The 3-day country music festival was originally scheduled for April 24-26.
If Stagecoach is not postponed to October and instead canceled entirely, it will join SXSW, Ultra, and others on a list of high-profile festivals that fell victim to the global spread of COVID-19.
Stagecoach’s Website Still Has the Original April 2020 Event Dates Listed
While rumors circulate about Stagecoach 2020’s being postponed or possibly even canceled, Stagecoach’s website does not show any signs of a potential change. The homepage says that the event is being held April 24-26, and even offers an active link for purchasing passes and festival add-ons.
On March 5, Stagecoach even tweeted out a schedule of the 3-day line-up, writing “Set your clocks to Stagecoach time.” At the time, the tweet seemed like a hopeful indicated that the festival would not be impacted by the coronavirus spread, but reports in the days since have diminished optimism that the festival will happen as scheduled.
Stagecoach has not yet commented on the possible date change or cancellation on either Instagram or Twitter. On Sunday, March 8, they wished a Happy International Women’s Day “to the women in charge of Stagecoach and all you wonderful women out there!
According to Billboard, Coronavirus became an increasing threat to Coachella and Stagecoach on March 9 after three more cases of the coronavirus were confirmed in Riverside County, where both festivals take place.
Organizers Will Know in 48 Hours if the Festival Can Be Moved, Billboard Says
On Monday, Billboard reported that organizers indicated that they had 48 hours to determine if Stagecoach and Coachella could be postponed to October before deciding if they would have to pull the plug on the music festivals for 2020 entirely.
Postponing a festival as huge as Stagecoach for 6 months requires a ton of coordination since the line-up includes hundreds of artists who were originally involved and likely have the rest of their 2020 calendars booked with other shows and appearances. The lineup, which was announced back in October 2019, includes Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, Billy Ray Cyrus, Chris Lane, Dan + Shay, Diplo, Lil Nas X, Laci Kaye Booth, and more. Billboard indicates that getting the headliners’ go-ahead to move the festival to the October dates is the top priority for Stagecoach coordinators, as keeping those names attached could keep pass-holders on board with the change. Lower profile acts may not be able to be rebooked, and planned attendees should anticipate at least a few changes to the lineup if the dates are successfully moved from late April to October.
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