By DJ Monk

There is no doubt that the current Covid-19 pandemic has thrown the music business into complete and utter chaos, with tours cancelled, album releases delayed. With many countries taking different approaches to the issue of lockdowns, and some prohibiting mass public gatherings right through until the end of August, the summer festival season also finds itself in a state of flux, with some events able to proceed as planned but others, such as Wacken, having had their plugs pulled. The situation here in the Über Kingdom is extremely unclear, with no clear guidance coming from either central government or the devolved administrations as to how long the restrictions here might apply.

Many are predicting that the entire ÜK summer festival season will have to be written off, especially in light of high profile weekenders such as Download and Glastonbury already having been forced to bite the virtual bullet… Several others fests, such as 2000Trees and Boomtown, have also this past week admitted defeat and cancelled this year’s events; other festival organizers have endeavoured to reschedule their events for later in the year – although whether these will remain viable options remains to be seen – while others are soldiering on in the hope that the situation may ease enough to allow them to go ahead in some shape or form…

So, what’s the score on the door at the moment? Well, we at ÜRHQ have trawled the interweb to try and get an up-to-date picture of what festivals are definitely NOT happening this year, what ones MAY be taking place later in the year and what ones are holding their breath to see whether or not they can proceed as planned.  This is by no means a definitive or exhaustive list of all the festivals originally planned to take place between now and the end of August, but it’s the best picture we have at this moment in time:

  • Breaking Bands (Stoke Prior, 21-25 May): CANCELLED.
  • Helfast (Belfast, 22-23 May): CANCELLED.
  • Slam Dunk (Leeds/Hatfield 22-24 May): RESCHEDULED to 5-6 September.
  • Call Of The Wild (Lincoln, 29-31 May): RESCHEDULED to 18-20 September.
  • Download (Donington Park, 12-14 June): CANCELLED.
  • Sunstroke (Dublin, 13-14 June): CANCELLED.
  • Glastonbury (24-28 June) CANCELLED.
  • Wildfire (Wanlockhead, 26-28 June): CANCELLED.
  • Tech-Fest (Newark, 2-6 July): STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.
  • Heretic Fest (Sheffield, 4 July): STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.
  • 2000Trees (Cheltenham, 9-11 July) CANCELLED.
  • TRNSMT (Glasgow, 10-12 July) CANCELLED.
  • Ramblin’ Man Fair (Maidstone, 17-19 July): STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.
  • PunkFast (Belfast, 18-19 July): STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.
  • Steelhouse (Ebbw Vale, 24-26 July): STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.
  • RADAR (Guildford, 31 July – 1 August) RESCHEDULED TO 16-17 October.
  • Bloodstock (Catton Hall, 6-9 August): STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.
  • Rebellion (Blackpool, 6-9 August): STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.
  • Boomtown Fair (Winchester, 12-16 August) CANCELLED.
  • ArcTanGent (Bristol, 20-23 August): STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.
  • Cross Over Fest (Belfast/Dublin, 21-22 August): STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.
  • Beermageddon (Stoke Prior, 28-30 August): STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.
  • Stonedead (Newark, 29 August): STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE.

Obviously, this is a snapshot of what remains a very fluid situation, and we would recommend that you keep in touch with the social media channels of all the above events to get the most up to date information, especially in relation to refunds or other arrangements where festivals have been cancelled, especially as many promoters are offering to automatically reallocate tickets to their 2021 events.

We should point out that the organizers of Bloodstock are planning a live update this coming Monday evening, so if you’ve a ticket for BOA20 it will definitely be worth tuning in for that… And, of course, we at Über Rock will keep you updated with developments as and when we get them.

In the meantime, #StaySafe.