Latest news with #cancellations
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Music festivals were once on the cutting edge. Now, they may be in crisis
Music festivals are facing a crisis. On the brink of what should be another exciting summer festival season, dozens of music festivals are shutting down. The trend has been simmering for years — the longstanding Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago isn't returning this summer, following similar announcements last year from Atlanta's Music Midtown and Kickoff Jam in Florida. Meanwhile, festivals like Jay-Z's Made in America festival and Delaware's Firefly Music Festival haven't returned since 2022. This year, more than 40 festivals have already been canceled, according to one count. These cancellations aren't the only signs that something is awry in the festival scene. For the second year in a row, tickets to Coachella — the preeminent festival in the California desert that once sold out within hours — remained available for months. Electric Forest, Michigan's notable electronic and jam band festival, has also seen a slowdown in sales, igniting more concern over the landscape overall. Some blame the spate of cancellations on changing tastes; others point to the lack of curiosity from younger generations (why pay to see a bunch of acts you haven't heard of?). And, of course, there's a general belt tightening overall. Either way, the result is the same. Music festivals were once on the cutting edge, events where the music and vibe felt fresh and unique. But taken together, the declining ticket sales and cancellations paint a struggling picture of the festival industry, even as other areas of live music thrive. These days, music festivals have become synonymous with summer, with almost every major city boasting their own sweaty sonic assembly. That wasn't always the case. In 1969, when Woodstock brought almost half a million people to see live music at a dairy farm in upstate New York, the event continued to resonate even years afterward, said Tiffany Naiman, director of Music Industry Programs at University of California, Los Angeles. 'It lived in the cultural memory of America,' she said, 'in this idea of a wonderful musical experience that changed people's lives.' Afterward, the desire for similar experiences lingered. Most of the festivals people might be familiar with now — Coachella, Lollapalooza, even Warped Tour — began in the 1990s. Lollapalooza, which began in 1991, notably became the Woodstock for Gen X-ers, Naiman said, a place for community and a diverse set of music. 'It was a great experience for people, because you got to see so many acts and things like that, for so little money,' Naiman said. 'Right now, that has obviously changed.' Blake Atchison, who lives in Nashville, still remembers sneaking into the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival back in 2002, the very first year it was held. Now, he takes his son with him every summer. The whole festival experience, said Atchison — who co-founded Nashville's Deep Tropics festival in 2017 — is magical. There's a sense of discovery in festivals, he said, with all the different stages with different types of music. You can stumble upon an amazing band or DJ that you end up loving, absent of a streaming algorithm feeding you similar sounds over and over again. At a festival, if you're open, Atchison said, you could discover something totally new. 'There's just nothing like it,' he said. 'I love music, I love experiencing music with people, and I don't think there's any purer form to do that than a well put together festival.' But over the years, that festival experience has changed. At Bonnaroo, for example, some longtime attendees have complained that the event has become swarmed with big, corporate sponsors. There's a tension between the two camps: Some mourn the days when the festival felt more bohemian, while others appreciate the increased investment, reflected in better toilets and more popular acts. That divide illustrates just how far festivals have come, but also underlines a challenge: Once integrated into the mainstream, how do these festivals stay distinct? While music festivals have long retained a grip on American identity, their hold might be slipping. Though the number of festivals has ballooned since the late '90s and early aughts, it's not clear that the demand has kept up, said Will Page, former chief economist of Spotify. Inflation and tightening budgets have people spending less in nearly every part of American life, including nightlife, fashion and dining out. While you could once see your favorite act play a major stadium and still attend a festival that same summer, music enthusiasts today are having to choose between the two. 'Roll forward to 2024, you go all in to see Taylor Swift, and you don't bother with the festival,' Page said. 'We're seeing an element of displacement, of cannibalization, of the stadium acts eating the festivals' lunch.' In other words, we've become more risk-averse. Why would you want to travel and pay hundreds of dollars for a weekend pass (not including costs for camping, drinks, food, etc.) to see artists you're not sure you'll enjoy? Especially when you could spend it on Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter tour instead? People want their echo chambers, Page said, and gambling on a festival might not seem worth it. Running a festival has become more challenging for organizers, too. As ticket pricing structures have changed, more artists are foregoing festivals for their own worldwide arena tours, where they can make more money, Page said. That's made it harder for festivals to attract top talent. Operation costs are also rising, Page said, but there's a limit to how much festivals can charge for tickets. 'You have a credit crunch facing festivals across the board,' he said. 'But particularly the smaller festivals are less able to hedge, less able to negotiate those terms, to manage that cost inflation.' The vulnerability of these smaller events can cause issues for prospective buyers. Midwest Dreams, a new EDM festival in St. Louis, was meant to kick off at the end of May, but organizers postponed the event to November about a week before the scheduled start. While a press release points to the damage caused by a recent tornado, onlookers noted that other events at the venue are still proceeding as scheduled. Refunds for the event were also reportedly only offered for 24 hours, after which tickets would roll over to the new date — although in an email to CNN, festival organizers noted the time limit was a ticket vendor policy and anyone who wants a refund will get it. Some fans understood the move; others claimed the festival was covering for low ticket sales. Midwest Dreams denied those claims. Then there's the increasing frequency of severe weather events. Acts can't perform if there's lightning, Naiman said, and insurance can also be a headache. Temperatures are also getting much hotter. The unpredictability of a music festival is part of the experience — but it can also make potential festival-goers wary. Last year, Electric Forest — where single-day passes are going for $175 in 2025 — was plagued with so much rain and severe thunderstorms that the festival was forced to end early and nix performances from headliners. A year later, some fans are still irate over not receiving a refund or voucher. (Electric Forest did not respond to CNN's request for comment.) Either way, for both organizers and attendees, festivals are simply becoming harder bets. And it's not just in the US. Festivals in Canada, in the United Kingdom, and across Europe have seen similar struggles, creating a picture of a worldwide music festival slump. The problems facing music festivals are the same problems facing almost every aspect of society. Money's tight, and the way people discover and experience music today is changing. But people still want to see live music, Naiman said. Indeed, even as the cost of concert tickets has soared, consumers have kept splurging. But among larger festivals, there's been little change or growth over the years, Naiman said. Instead, there's been a flattening, with the same artists playing and the same styles of music. (Case in point: Luke Combs, Tyler, the Creator, and Olivia Rodrigo are all headlining both Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza this year.) 'The larger ones are plateauing because they haven't changed for the better,' Naiman said. 'I don't think that Coachella is doing anything unique or radical anymore.' That unique, grassroots vibe for which many longstanding music festivals became popular has somewhat faded in recent years, particularly as behemoths Live Nation and AEG have gathered ownership over major music festivals, leaning toward a more mainstream EDM and pop-centric lineup. For some longtime fans, that change is hard to swallow. Lollapalooza, for example, which began as a farewell tour before evolving into an underground alternative rock festival, was acquired by Live Nation in 2014. In 2016, bemoaning the influx of EDM into the lineup, Lollapalooza founder and Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell told the Chicago Tribune: 'I sometimes cringe at my own festival.' And music fans seem to be gravitating toward other spaces to experience something new. Currently, The All-American Rejects are embarking on a nationwide house party tour, eschewing traditional venues for backyards, college campuses and, in one instance, a bowling alley. Though the pop-rock band is still playing some summer festivals (Warped Tour, Shaky Knees and Aftershock), while opening for the Jonas Brothers in stadiums, these unconventional shows and the ensuing social media hype have revived the band's early aughts buzz. To set themselves apart, smaller festivals have had to move beyond music as a way to entice audiences, Atchison said. Deep Tropics, which he said has seen an average of 43% growth year over year since its founding in 2017, has focused on sustainability, and integrated more speakers, workshops, and even yoga and breathwork into the festival. 'There's other elements that fans are searching for,' Atchison said. Part of the solution may also lie in reframing what a music festival actually means. Naiman used the Sundance Film Festival as an example, where film buffs gather not to see their favorite movies, but to be the first to uncover the coolest up-and-coming directors and actors. 'Though we like being in our echo chamber, I think there's a hunger for new things,' Naiman said. 'I think it's really about framing it, and how festivals frame this idea of discovery and experience versus seeing whoever again.' That hunger for new things is vital. For music festivals, their survival may very well depend on it.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Saturday morning storms cause early headaches for Orlando travelers
Central Florida experienced delays and cancellations at Orlando International Airport and Sanford Airport on Saturday morning. The line of strong storms that rolled through Central Florida Saturday morning caused delays and cancellations to stack up at Orlando International Airport and Sanford Airport before most passengers woke up. As of 11:30 a.m., 249 flights had been delayed flying in or out of the airports, while four flights had been canceled. Channel 9 shall continue to provide updates regarding weekend travel. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
CBC
27-05-2025
- CBC
Air Canada pilot vents about delays, blaming air traffic controller shortage
Air Canada says it's been hit by unexpected delays at Vancouver International Airport in recent weeks. The airport confirms a shortage of air traffic controllers has caused delays and cancellations in recent weeks. As Jon Hernandez reports, a pilot expressed his frustrations to a plane full of passengers on Saturday.
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Almost a quarter of elective operations in England cancelled at last minute
Almost a quarter of elective operations in NHS hospitals in England last year were cancelled at the last minute and took longer than the required 28 days to rearrange, figures show. They also reveal that the number of cancellations breaching the 28-day standard for a new date has more than doubled within a decade, from 9,000 in 2015-16 to 19,400 in 2024-25. The figures obtained by the House of Commons library on behalf of the Liberal Democrats show that a decade ago only 7% of cancelled elective operations were not rearranged within 28 days. Last year's total of 19,400 cancellations not rearranged in time represents 23% of the 85,400 operations due to take place. This figure was also up by 1,500 from the previous year – an increase of 8%. The NHS trust with the highest number of breaches that had not experienced a recent merger was University Hospitals of Leicester, with 942, followed by Surrey and Sussex healthcare, with 710. Of the 108 English NHS trusts that reported full data for each year since 2015-16, 73 had a rise in the number of breaches. Helen Morgan, the Lib Dem health and social care spokesperson, said the figures showed patients were being abandoned. She said: 'Patients are being left in the lurch, forced to wait in pain and distress for potentially life-altering operations. Each of these delays represents an extra month that someone's misery is prolonged.' Morgan also accused the Labour government of failing to tackle the impact of Conservative cuts to the NHS. 'This is the devastating legacy of the Conservatives' neglect of this NHS, but the Labour government is proving aimless in how to turn this around with ill-thought-through reforms and kicking vital projects into the long grass. 'This embrace of dither and delay on building new hospitals or fixing the crisis in social care, so crucial to fixing the underlying problem in the health service, is failing patients. It is time ministers realised this and showed real ambition in ending these unacceptable delays and getting patients the care they deserve.' Separately, the DHSC announced a rollout of radiotherapy machines in 28 hospitals from August that it said would mean 4,500 cancer patients would get faster treatment. The new linear accelerator machines, part of a £70m plan to improve cancer care, could lead to a reduction in required rounds of radiotherapy and reach cancers in difficult-to-treat areas such as the chest, abdomen and pelvis. The DHSC estimates the new machines will save up to 13,000 appointments currently lost to equipment breakdown. It said that by March 2027 the machines will help deliver an extra 27,500 treatments a year. Sign up to Headlines UK Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion Prof Pat Price, chair of Radiotherapy UK, said the new machines were welcome but insufficient. 'The brutal truth is this will only replace half of the out of date machines in the NHS,' she said. 'And still, six in 10 cancer patients are waiting too long for their radiotherapy treatment. Without long-term investment in radiotherapy, this is a sticking plaster on a cancer service in crisis.' She added: 'Massive waits for cancer treatment have become the rotten routine due to a lack of investment in kit and people. Unless ministers back this with the proper long-term investment called for in the spending review and the cancer plan, more patients will be left waiting, and many will die who don't need to.' Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said: 'By reducing the number of hospital visits required and preventing cancelled appointments, these state-of-the-art radiotherapy machines free up capacity so that thousands more patients are treated on time. 'As a cancer survivor, I know just how important timely treatment is. These machines are part of the investment and modernisation that will cut waiting times for patients, through our plan for change.' A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesperson said: 'Years of underinvestment in the NHS has left it with outdated, creaking machinery that breaks down and causes thousands of cancelled appointments. 'That's why we are announcing £70m investment in new radiotherapy machines, using cutting-edge equipment to save 13,000 cancelled appointments a year, cut waiting times for treatment, and modernise the health service. While there is more to do, our plan for change has put the NHS on the road to recovery.' NHS England was approached for comment.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Read the full list of Sydney Trains services in meltdown: T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8, T9
Why are Sydney Trains are delayed and cancelled today? T1 North Shore & Western Line T2 Inner West & Leppington Line T3 Bankstown Line T5 Cumberland Line T8 Airport & South Line T9 Northern Line Blue Mountains Line Central Coast & Newcastle Line What to do? Passengers planning on travelling on the rail network this morning are advised to avoid travel or use alternative transport if possible, Transport for NSW said. If you need to travel on the network there will be limited shuttles operating. If passengers must travel, plan ahead and allow extra travel time. We have trains running on all lines, but at a reduced frequency.
