Atlanta’s Music Midtown Festival Canceled Amid Pro-Gun Legislation

The festival was slated to be held on September 17 and 18 and was set to feature headliner performances from emo favorites My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy, as well as appearances from Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski, and 100 Gecs.

The festival posted a statement to their website, saying, “Due to circumstances beyond our control, Music Midtown will no longer be taking place this year.”

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Although Live Nation, the promoter for the event, never officially confirmed the reasoning behind the cancellation, insider sources confirmed to Billboard and Rolling Stone that tightening pro-gun legislation was behind the decision.

In 2019, Georgia’s Supreme Court upheld a 2014 law allowing people to carry firearms on public land, issuing a ruling that interpreted the law to include private events held on public land. Since Music Midtown was temporarily using city-owned Piedmont Park for the festival, they were forced to either abide by the law or cancel the festival altogether, opting for the latter.

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The legislation posed a range of safety concerns for the festival, with Piedmont Park being exposed on all sides and thus vulnerable to a gun attack. The legislation also conflicts with increased safety measures being taken by the music industry after the Astroworld tragedy in November that killed 10 people. As a result of the disaster, more intricate and detailed safety measures started being written into tour riders, with the Georgia ruling flying in the face of those increased measures.

Live Nation will be issuing refunds to all ticket holders for the event, saying, “We were looking forward to reuniting in September and hope we can all get back to enjoying the festival together again soon.”

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