Roadburn 2020 Postponed
I’ve included the day schedules here not to wallow, but to emphasize the tremendous amount of creativity and heart that goes into making Roadburn Festival each year. We all knew by now there was no way that as governments are increasingly warning people to shelter in place and beginning to tighten quarantine restrictions because of the global pandemic of COVID-19 that Roadburn 2020 wasn’t going to go forward as was originally planned, but I know at least I held out hope that there would be something next month. Almost anything. Really if I just flew to the Netherlands and hung around the 013 for a couple days pretending I work there like I do every year as we run the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch daily fanzine out of there and publish for the fest-goers, that would’ve been cool. Just some glimmer of that experience.
Not this year.
Everyone knows the circumstances here are bigger than the fest’s control, and while I’m super-bummed I won’t be able to obtain the glorious poster art below on a likewise glorious green Roadburn 2020 hoodie to go with the pinkish/red one I got last year, even I have to look outside myself for about 30 seconds and understand there are wider issues at play. And it looks like I’ll have plenty of time to come to that understanding while not traveling this Spring.
So it goes. Roadburn of course will be back in some way, shape or form, but today’s not the day even to think about what that might look like. For now, I want to send my sincere love and gratitude to Walter and Becky and everyone behind the scenes at the 013 venue who make Roadburn happen every year. Thank you.
Here’s the fest’s statement:
Due to the recent announcements from the Dutch government that all events in the Netherlands are forbidden until June, it will be impossible for us to hold Roadburn in April as planned. We know that many of you had already guessed that this would be the case, and we appreciate your patience as we have navigated the necessary processes that come along with organising an event as complex as Roadburn.
The current situation is having an enormous impact already – on the venues we rely on, the bands that we love and the events that we have planned for. Until we come out the other side of this, it will be impossible to do a full assessment of the damage caused to the live music industry. We ask for just a little bit more patience from you whilst we continue to work to bring you the most clear, concise and useful information relating to the postponement of Roadburn 2020. We know you have a lot of questions and we will do our best to answer in the coming days.
With much love, sadness and disbelief…
-Walter, Becky & the whole Roadburn team.
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