Highly Anticipated Country Music Festival Scrapped, Organizers Cite Infrastructure Issues

Just two days before Country Thunder Alberta planned to welcome headlining artists like Lainey Wilson, Kane Brown, and the Red Clay Strays to the stage, organizers called off the entire event.

Country Thunder Alberta Will Not Proceed Due to “Escalating Challenges”

In an announcement shared to social media on Wednesday (June 24), Country Thunder festival organizers explained that they arrived at the “difficult decision” after Calgary city officials failed to remedy “a series of escalating challenges.”

“Active construction, loss of critical infrastructure and a restrictive noise bylaw made safe and enjoyable execution of the festival impossible,” the post explained.

Continuing, organizers explained that these “new restrictions” mean that they cannot reasonably execute the festival according to their “world-class” standards.

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“We are deeply sorry to everyone who planned their summer around this,” the message noted.

Ticketholders can expect refunds to be processed back to their original form of payment within 30 business days.

Construction, Noise Restriction the Main Culprits

A statement posted to Country Thunder Alberta’s website pointed to Calgary city officials after several months of “direct communication” and “sustained advocacy” failed to yield a viable path forward.

The statement went on to cite several issues, including construction near and on The Confluence Historic Site and Parkland in Calgary.

However, Country Thunder spokesperson Megan Benoit told CBC Radio’s The Homestretch that the city’s concert noise restrictions were “kind of the nail in the coffin.”

“We do not take this decision lightly,” said Kim Blevins, the festival’s executive director. “Our fans travel from across the country to be part of this experience and we owe them an event they can enjoy fully. The city-driven conditions in Calgary this year make that impossible.”

She continued, “Proceeding would have meant compromising on not only safety but also the fan experience and that is not something we are willing to do. We want our fans to feel the music, lose themselves in it and leave having had the experience they paid for. The new sound limitations placed on this event would not have allowed us to deliver that experience.”

About Country Thunder

Launching in the ’90s, Country Thunder is one of the biggest country music festival brands in North America. Including stops in Arizona, Florida, Saskatchewan, and Wisconsin, it has even taken home a Festival of the Year award from the Academy of Country Music.

[RELATED: After Months of Waiting, Country Thunder Florida Refunds Have Been Processed]

Set for June 26-28, this year’s Country Thunder Alberta lineup also included Cameron Whitcomb, Tyler Hubbard, Ian Munsick, Mark Chesnutt, Noeline Hofmann and Elizabeth Nichols, and many more.

Featured image by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for ACM