THUNDER BAY – Friday was supposed to mark the opening of the Thunder Bay Blues Festival.
However, after months of trying to pull together a lineup, with little success finding headliners to live up to Bryan Adams’ festival-stealing show last July, organizers decided to cancel it and focus on 2021.
The COVID-19 came along.
Trevor Hurtig, manager of marketing and development at the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium, which runs the Blues Festival, said the pandemic has left planning for next year’s event, along with scheduling concerts and other events at the facility itself, at a standstill.
There’s just no way of knowing when large gatherings like the Blues Fest, which drew sold-out crowds in the thousands to Marina Park, will be allowed.
As a result, most acts have yet to make touring plans for next year, preferring to take a wait-and-see approach.
“The whole industry is at a standstill at the moment. People are very reluctant in the business to commit to too much, as far as new dates or really anything into the future, just because nobody knows exactly what’s happening and when this is all going to settle down enough so we can move forward with actual plans,” Hurtig said, reached recently by phone by CKPR Radio.
“Apart from that, there are certainly discussions going on with agents for both the Auditorium and a potential Blues Fest in the future.”
The good news for both venues is if touring is allowed to resume again in 2021, there will be a large number of artists and acts that will likely hit the road next year. Many will be trying to make up for lost income in 2020, while others would normally have been hitting the road anyway.
It should mean an availability of more talent, though the still uncertain issue of the border being closed between Canada and the United States does loom large for the time being.
Hurtig said no decision has yet been made about the 2021 Blues Festival, but added nothing needs to be done immediately. The lineup isn’t traditionally revealed until March.
The event has proven hugely successful throughout its two-decade history, and sold out in record time in 2019, with Adams heading the bill.
“I think we have a fair bit of time on that one. We usually start after the Blues Festival – which would have happened this weekend had we proceeded with it. Usually we have some initial discussions after the festival takes place and have some further discussions over the summer and then some more serious discussions into the fall and before Christmas,” Hurtig said.
Blues Festival, if it does return, could have a much different look. Asked about the possibility of a more localized lineup, Hurtig said nothing is off the table at this point.
“Whatever happens, we are looking at everything,” he said. “If it turns out that Canadian artists are what’s available because the border is still closed (maybe that’s what we’ll do).”
The same goes for the Auditorium, Hurtig added.
The Auditorium has already had a number of shows, including ZZ Top and Jeff Dunham, cancel or postpone. Both have tentatively rescheduled shows for 2021 dates.
