After weeks of speculation, AthFest Educates released an official statement on Sept. 9 cancelling this year’s AthFest Music & Arts Festival. Due to the area’s high number of current COVID-19 cases, the festival did not receive its final permit from the Athens-Clarke County government—marking the second year in a row that COVID has cancelled the event. The result has been an overwhelming amount of sadness and understanding from the community. “We are heartbroken to say the least, but we understand: the community’s health and safety must come first,” AthFest Educates Executive Director Jill Helme said in the press release. “We’d like to thank our dedicated sponsors who chose to support this event regardless of the potential for cancellation and we encourage everyone to support those businesses and their products and services.” The impact of this will be felt by musicians, vendors and the greater Athens community alike. Many displaced artists booked for the main stages are currently migrating to other venues. Check the calendar listings on flagpole.com and grab a copy of next week’s issue for updates on where to catch these acts.
As of Sept. 13, many of the bands originally scheduled for AthFest have been invited to perform at Southern Brewing Co. as part of a three-day event called September Days Festival. Check out the lineup below.
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