THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Blues Festival remains in a holding pattern for 2022.
The event, cancelled the past two summers, sold out in 2018 and 2019, bringing the likes of Bryan Adams, Sarah MacLachlan and Melissa Etheridge to the city`s waterfront.
Bob Halvorsen, general manager at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, said normally they’d start booking the following year’s show immediately after the current year’s ended.
But because of the uncertainty still surrounding COVID-19 and the reluctance of ticket buyers to commit this far in advance, Halvorsen said the event has been put on the back burner once again.
“Much like this building, artists are reluctant to commit and we’re reluctant to commit because of the ongoing pandemic and social distancing protocols and other COVID-19 protocols that may be in place, or may not be in place. We just don’t know,” Halvorsen said.
“We’re kind of sitting back and just waiting to see, but the longer we go into the new year, the less chance that Blues Fest is going to happen for 2022.”
As for 2023, Halvorsen said it’s too far out to say.
He does want the annual festival to return, when the time is right.
“The Blues Fest has, and will continue to be, a signature event for the Auditorium,” he said. “It brought a tremendous amount of talent to Thunder Bay in a very short period of time. It’s one even that we loved putting on and I know people in Thunder Bay really liked it. It’s something we want to bring back. It’s something that needs to come back. We just don’t know if it’s the right time or if it’s going to happen for next year.”
The 2020 event was cancelled prior to the pandemic landing Ontario, organizers citing the lack of availability of headline-worthy acts during the festival’s early July window.
