Gov. Murphy says concerts aren’t happening in New Jersey ‘anytime soon.’ What’s that mean for the summer season?
Many shows in May and some in June have already been postponed or canceled — including the three-day Barefoot Country Music Festival in Wildwood.
Outlining his plan to re-open New Jersey and ease the state out of its coronavirus lockdown, Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday that “concerts aren’t going to be anytime soon.”
That does not bode well for the summer concert season in the Garden State, where there’s a full slate of shows scheduled at the BB&T Pavilion in Camden and casinos in Atlantic City, not to mention a three-night Phish stand on the AC beach in August.
Concert promoter Live Nation, which books acts for Camden’s BB&T Pavilion and Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel & Casino, as well as Atlantic City beach concerts, declined to comment on the governor’s statement.
But already on the concert calendar, many shows in May and some in June have already been postponed or canceled — including the three-day Barefoot Country Music Festival that had been scheduled for June 19 to 21 in Wildwood and has now been postponed until next year.
In May at the BB&T Pavilion, the Five Finger Death Punch show is now slated for Nov. 1. The WMMR BBQ has been moved from May 16 to Sept. 19. And the Radio 104.5 13th Birthday concert that had been slated for May 30 has been canceled.
As of now, June shows scheduled for BB&T Pavilion are still on the calendar. Those include the Lumineers on June 5, Brad Paisley June 14, Megadeth June 18 ,and Alanis Morissette with Liz Phair and Garbage on June 28.
On the Atlantic City beach, the three-day Phish stand from Aug. 14 to 16 is still scheduled to take place.
Many casino shows are still listed as happening, but Murphy ordered all of the casinos shut on March 16 until further notice, so no concerts are going to be going on within their walls at least until then.
At the Borgata, the Wu Tang Clan show slated for May 9 has been moved to Nov. 6. Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle tour meant to take place Memorial Day weekend on May 24 is now targeting Sept. 6. And it doesn’t look good for Brandi Carlile’s May 30 show — an update on the show’s status is promised soon on the Borgata web site.
At Ovation Hall at the Ocean Resort, Stephanie Mills’ May 10 show has been cancelled, but Allison Krauss‘ May 23 and Aaron Lewis May 30 date are still on the schedule.
At the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the Dierks Bentley date on May 30 has been postponed to Aug. 6, but upcoming shows with Train on June 20 and Mary J. Blige on June 28 are still on the schedule.
At Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, the next two big musical gatherings schedule are Lit in AC on June 20 and Kidz Bop Live on July 10. Both shows are still listed on the venue’s website. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.