On the eve of Bonaroo‘s triumphant return, the festival has been forced to cancel. This cancelation has nothing to do with COVID, and everything to do with logistics. The festival takes place in a grassy campground area, much like the infamous TomorrowWorld. This week the Bonaroo festival site was inundated with rain for days, leaving the ground muddy and flooded. Those who lived through TomorrowWorld 2015 (Mudworld) can appreciate how much this can ruin a festival.
The camping areas being flooded means cars can’t park, and they can’t even drive in or out. With a huge portion of the festival site muddy and wet, it’s not worth carrying on. We saw what can happen when a festival tries to move ahead in this type of scenario, and it bankrupted an entire corporation. So the festival was forced to cut camping capacity to keep it together. Then the rain finally subsided, but it wasn’t enough to save the festival in time. The festival is cancelled for 2021 and will return in June 2022. The festival will refund tickets within 30 days.