Coronavirus Concerns Force Cancellation of Miami’s Ultra Music Festival, Tour Postponements from Slipknot, Whitesnake

The coronavirus has everybody on high alert these days, and fears of the affliction prompted a major music festival cancellation this week when it was announced that the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, originally scheduled for March 20-22, will no longer take place.

The news came on Wednesday, with the Miami Herald reporting that Ultra might be postponed “for a full year,” due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 virus. More, via the Herald:

The decision to postpone, which sent shock waves through the electronic dance music community on social media, was made in a meeting Wednesday morning between Miami’s elected leaders and Ultra representatives, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. Before the meeting, Mayor Francis Suarez and Commissioner Joe Carollo told reporters they wanted to postpone the event due to concerns over the spread of novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.

This could be an ominous sign for the coming months — we’re roughly five weeks away from two weekends of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and Stagecoach Festival in Southern California, for example, and we’ve already seen several musical acts cancel or postpone tours overseas due to coronavirus fears.

Heavy metal band Slipknot also postponed an upcoming Asian tour, as announced Thursday morning:

pic.twitter.com/tISN0enpcW

— Slipknot (@slipknot) March 5, 2020

As did Whitesnake:

Attention Japan!!!⁣
⁣Our Sincere Apologies, Brothers & Sisters…XX #fleshandbloodworldtour #whitesnake pic.twitter.com/djbOYxRhRN

— Whitesnake (@Whitesnake) March 5, 2020

Stay tuned, as it’s anybody’s guess whether this might continue to wreak havoc on the music/concert industry … and stay safe out there!