Organizers Cancel 47th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival Over Coronavirus Concern

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TELLURIDE, Colo. (CBS4) - Bluegrass music and summertime in Colorado go hand in hand as thousands flock to various festivals around the state each year. One of those is held each June in the small picturesque ski town of Telluride, located in the southwest part of the state.

But this year organizers have decided to cancel the 47th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival out of an abundance of caution and to help stop the spread of coronavirus. The festival was scheduled to take place June 18-21 and the huge list of popular performers who were slated to play included Dierks Bentley, Alison Krauss, Greensky Bluegrass, Tyler Childers, Billy Strings, Sarah Jarosz, The Del McCoury Band, Punch Brothers, as well as regulars like Bela Fleck, Tim O'Brien, Peter Rowan, Jerry Douglas, Edgar Meyer, and (of course) Sam Bush.

(credit: Planet Bluegrass)

In a post to Facebook on Thursday organizers said it was the easiest and most difficult decision that Planet Bluegrass has ever made. They quoted the late John Prine, who recently died due to complications from COVID-19, saying, "There is nothing more I hate than canceling shows."

Hundreds immediately replied to the cancellation post with one person saying, "a tough tough call but we need to do what is right. I'll miss all my volunteer friends this summer and can't wait to see you all soon."

Another person from Australia commented, "We're festivarians from the land down under who had another USA trip planned out this June. Sad to miss Telluride and time with our special festival friends. We couldn't have come anyway, as our flights were already cancelled by our airline, Qantas."

(credit: Planet Bluegrass)

Planet Bluegrass says they will be contacting all ticket holders directly via email sometime during the next week and will offer a full refund. They ended their Facebook post by saying, "the journey to Festivaria is more mysterious than ever, but, we will gather again."