What can we learn from the cancellation of the rescheduled Jazz Fest?

On Sunday, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival presented by Shell ended the suspense and cancelled for the second year in a row. The spike in Delta variant infections made the decision seem probable, but remained disappointing to read on the festival’s website, “We now look forward to next spring, when we will present the Festival during its traditional timeframe. Next year’s dates are April 29 – May 8, 2022.”

The announcement includes an update on what ticket holders can do—wait for an email with details that will come later this week—and the suggestion that everyone “follow the guidelines and protocols put forth by public health officials, so that we can all soon experience together the joy that is Jazz Fest.”

Here are a few thoughts based on this announcement:

1) Some on social media wondered if this year’s Rolling Stones show would be moved to another venue as it was in 2019. Short answer: No. According to the statement, “All Wednesday, October 13 tickets will be automatically refunded.” It’s off.

2) “COVID-19 Conditions” are blamed in the announcement’s headline, and broadly speaking they are, but there’s likely more to the story. Touring acts would usually be paid in two parts, one two months or so before the show and one after the show has started. Sunday was two months from the opening day of Jazz Fest, so if organizers didn’t cancel, they would have been on the hook for a good chunk of money without knowing if they would be able to recoup it. The Delta spike might have forced a cancellation or an attendance cap, and even if Jazz Fest decided to open, the Delta variant might have scared away festgoers--all scenarios that would have been financially perilous for Jazz Fest. Bailing out at this point was financially prudent since COVID-19 adds so much uncertainty to a delicate balance. 

3) Because French Quarter Festival doesn’t have those touring artist contracts to deal with, organizers could theoretically see how Lollapalooza has affected COVID spread in Chicago before making a decision. The home page still features the dates for this year’s festival, but the fact that the music lineup page for the festival has a “No Results Found” on a page that used to list the performing artists might be a sign that a decision has been made. Or, it might be a glitch. 

4) It will be interesting to see how two years away from festivals affects future attendance. Right now, people are talking excitedly about 2022, but visitors from out of town who used to come yearly for Jazz Fest will have had a chance to break a habit. Every year a few more baby boomers are told by their knees and backs that maybe they’ve seen enough Jimmy Buffett shows, and two years of avoiding those aches may prompt more to think twice about how often they need to make a Jazz Fest pilgrimage.

5) It remains to be seen what will happen with French Quarter Fest and Buku, but the 2020 cancellations and the cancellations so far underscore the danger of a tourism-based economy that leans so heavily on festivals. Just a few hours after the announcement, Nola.com posted a story on the hit local hotels, clubs and restaurants will take with Jazz Fest cancelled. The decision to go all in on tourism always seemed like a precarious choice on the part of previous mayors including particularly Mitch Landrieu, and one that came with a number of problems starting with the way it made residents de facto tourist attractions. Now, the vulnerability of a tourism economy is also abundantly clear. 

6) There’s no point in getting too excited about Jazz Fest 2022 at this point. Until we as a country get serious about COVID, all events are threatened. Crowds for Saints games seem unlikely, and unless we make real progress, Mardi Gras looks precarious. It may not come until February next year, but krewes will have to make some expensive decisions in the fall just like Jazz Fest did this week. 

7) Although I had issues with The Rolling Stones booking, Charlie Watts’ illness makes me think that New Orleans just lost its last chance to see the Stones. Bands with members in their mid-70s and early-80s will likely find it harder and harder to get a clear space when everybody’s healthy enough to participate in rehearsals and a tour. I’m sure Mick and Keith love playing, but I wonder if they love the rest of touring enough to try to whip together another tour in the face of their age and infirmity, particularly in the COVID years.

8) Jazz Fest’s cancellation is the natural consequence of our national selfishness. One party’s overall stance breaks down to If it’s not good for me, it’s not good, and over the course of the last year, I’ve seen people adopt the position that they’ll decide what to do with their bodies and what chances they’re willing to take. This is where that gets us—with one, maybe two of New Orleans’ biggest economic drivers cancelled and the natural resource the economy is built on, musicians, sidelined and struggling. That selfishness is shortsighted and destructive, and you’d think the Delta variant and Jazz Fest’s cancellation would smarten people up. Mardi Gras is next though, and I fear we will be having the same discussions again with a different variant.