MINNEAPOLIS (CelebrityAccess) — Organizers of the Minneapolis music festival, the Basilica Block Party, announced that the event will take break in 2022.
In a statement posted to their website, a rep for the festival wrote:
“The Basilica Block Party will take a planned one-year hiatus in 2022 to reimagine the event for future years.”
“Live events have had to rethink their strategy and future because of COVID, and the Block Party is no different. Taking a year off will give us time to rethink what the event could be and how to make it better for the future.”
“After taking a forced year off due to Covid in 2020, the Block Party was held in September 2021. Compared to previous non-Covid years, attendance was down in 20221 and that was expected, but because the pandemic continues with many uncertainties, we thought it would be a good time to take a hiatus.”
“Thank you for your support – we look to the future with optimism.”
The 2021 edition of the festival was originally scheduled for June but was eventually pushed back to September but that didn’t prevent the Avett Brothers, one of the festival’s headliners, from backing out of appearing at the festival after several members of the touring team contracted Covid.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, attendance for the festival didn’t’ break 10,000 a day, despite a strong lineup that included Black Pumas, AJR, Spoon, and Motion City Soundtrack, among others.
The festival debuted in 1995 as a fundraiser for the restoration of the Basilica of St. Mary, a historic church in Minneapolis.
Live Nation took over booking at the festival in 2019, according to the Star-Tribune.
