Shake the Lake classic rock fest cancelled amid ‘uncertainty’

Classic rock music festival Shake the Lake is the latest casualty of COVID -19 gathering bans in Regina.

The festival, slated for late August on the shores of Wascana Lake near the Conexus Arts Centre, announced its cancellation on Thursday.

“We held out hope that we would be able to join together this summer to celebrate our love for classic rock music for as long as we could,” read a news release from Shake the Lake and the Conexus Arts Centre.

“With the uncertainty of when mass gatherings will be allowed, along with the unknowns surrounding international travel for our artists, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s event.”

The festival, which launched in 2018, has hosted such artists as Trooper, Chilliwack, Cheap Trick, Styx, 54-40 and Canadian cover band supergroup Toque.

A lineup was set for the 2020 festival, although the artists on the roster were not made public.

The Saskatchewan government has outlined a five-phase plan for “reopening” the province amid COVID-19. Mass gatherings will not be allowed until the fifth phase.

Shake the Lake now joins a growing list of festivals that have been cancelled or indefinitely postponed in the province, including the Regina Folk Festival and Mosaic Multicultural Festival in Regina, and Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, the jazz and fringe festivals and exhibition in Saskatoon.

Premier Scott Moe said this week he does not expect big events like Country Thunder in Craven (scheduled for July) and the Grey Cup (scheduled for November) will be able to go ahead.

“If those public gathering sizes would expand to … many thousands, between now and July, then I suppose that event (in Craven) would be able to go ahead. Doesn’t appear that that will be the case for many events this summer, unfortunately, including up to and potentially including even this fall’s Grey Cup …” said Moe.

Shake the Lake’s organizers stated its patrons “health, safety, and comfort” are priorities — “therefore we are unable to plan, execute, and deliver the Shake the Lake you expect while ensuring everyone’s safety in the current difficult conditions.”

The festival promised to be back next year. “Take care of yourself and each other, stay safe! Together we will get through this,” it ended.