New Orleans Jazz Fest canceled for second year due to COVID-19

The New Orleans Jazz Fest has been canceled for the second straight year due to COVID-19 concerns. 

“As a result of the current exponential growth of new COVID cases in New Orleans and the region and the ongoing public health emergency, we must sadly announce that the 2021 edition of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, scheduled to take place October 8 –17, 2021, will not occur as planned,” the festival said in a statement on Sunday.

The festival also said refunds and options to rollover tickets to next year would be available for attendees and urged people to follow the health and safety guidelines by public officials. 

“In the meantime, we urge everyone to follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials, so that we can all soon experience together the joy that is Jazz Fest.”

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— New Orleans JazzFest (@jazzfest) August 8, 2021

The recent cancellations come amid the recent surge of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. as the highly contiguous delta variant of the virus spreads across the country. 

Legendary rock & roll band the Rolling Stones was added to the festival’s lineup in July, as a part of their upcoming U.S. tour, which had been put on hold for a year due to the pandemic. 

The festival added that it will return to their traditional timeframe on April 29 – May 8, 2022, according to the news release.