AUSTIN, Texas — Austin City Limits has joined the ranks of major music festivals to be canceled because of the coronavirus.
Festival organizers said in a statement Wednesday that scrapping the three-day October event was “the only responsible solution.” The announcement comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Texas, with the state reporting another daily high Tuesday of 7,000 new confirmed cases and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott urging people to stay home.
The festival is one of the largest in the country each year. A lineup had not been announced, but last year’s headliners included Guns N’ Roses, Cardi B, Billie Eilish and The Cure.
The Coachella music festival in California and Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee will also not take place this year.
The cancellation is another big loss for Austin’s tourism economy. The city’s South By Southwest festival, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, was canceled in March as the virus first began to spread in Texas.
