Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
■ Area event planners keep eye on virus news.
After Ultra Music Fest cancellation, organizers monitor outbreak news
Ultra Music Festival 2020 in Miami may be postponed due to coronavirus concerns, but Florida’s other big annual electronic dance music gathering, the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival, on Thursday cranked up the volume for a weekend expected to draw 30,000 people from most of the 50 states and beyond.
The prevailing attitude among organizers at major South Florida festivals and entertainment venues: We are monitoring coronavirus news and, for now, the show will go on.
The Florida Department of Health on Thursday released figures that showed there are seven cases of COVID-19 related to Florida, although five people are isolated out of state.
Ultra Music Festival was scheduled to take place March 20-22 at Miami’s Bayfront Park, drawing more than 100,000 fans and performers, many from outside the United States. The lineup of major international EDM talent includes David Guetta, Major Lazer, Kygo, Above & Beyond, DJ Snake, Afrojack and Flume.
Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell on Thursday said the decision to postpone Ultra was difficult but had to be made.
“We are at a point in time where cities, states and the nation are struggling to find the right
balance of protecting both public health and the economy,” Russell said. “Major events like Ultra are important to our local businesses. But our first duty is to the health and safety of our residents. It’s better for all of us in the long run to make that the priority.”
Ultra is the centerpiece of Miami Music Week and the long-running Winter Music Conference, global events that bring tens of millions of dollars into the city. Many of these events remain scheduled.
Miami-raised DJ Steve Aoki on Thursday alerted followers to a new wave of tickets on sale for his March 19 Miami Music Week appearance at the Nautilus by Arlo Hotel for a pool party featuring Benny Benassi, Cheat Codes, Party Pupils and others.
The famed Calle Ocho Music Festival will take place in Miami on March 15, according to a spokeswoman for the Kiwanis Club of Little Havana, host of the event that drew more than 500,000 people in 2019.
“We are monitoring, yes, but it’s still on,” she said.
Gates opened at noon Thursday for the 2020 Okeechobee Music Festival, a virtual sellout this weekend, with a majority of more than 30,000 attendees camping in tents clustered in the woods north of Lake Okeechobee. Headliners include Bassnectar, Kaskade, Vampire Weekend
and Mumford & Sons.
Among the first to arrive was Erin Brantley from Georgetown, Texas. Speaking by phone from the OMF campground, Brantley was defiant in the face coronavirus concerns.
“It feels just like it did [in 2018]. This is a laid-back and spiritual place. Plus it’s like 90 degrees. No virus is going to survive here,” Brantley said, laughing.
No changes have been made so far at Tortuga Music Festival 2020, expected to draw around 90,000 country-music fans to Fort Lauderdale Beach Park April 17 to 19 to see headliners Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and Tim McGraw. In years past, festival organizers have counted ticket buyers from all 50 states and 22 countries.
Tortuga founder Chris Stacey of Rock the Ocean said organizers are keeping an eye on information from local health officials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization.
“We are obviously all over this,” Stacey said.
At Fort Lauderdale’s Broward Center for the Performing Arts, officials said they are following the guidance of local public health officials and the Florida Department of Health.
“As a precautionary measure we have implemented an enhanced cleaning and sanitizing regimen in all areas of our campus,” a statement from the venue said.
In downtown West Palm Beach, SunFest 2020 organizers are watching coronavirus developments and communicating with the Palm Beach County Health Department, said SunFest spokeswoman Melissa Sullivan.
“The safety of everyone who attends and is involved with SunFest is always very important to us,” Sullivan said. “We will continue to monitor the situation and work with the appropriate agencies to determine if any plans need to be modified.”
SunFest 2020 takes place on the waterfront in downtown West Palm Beach April 30 to May 3, with a lineup that includes Juanes, Cage the Elephant, Darius Rucker, Adam Lambert, Melissa Etheridge and AJR. Sullivan said she checked this week with the booking agency that makes travel arrangements for the performers, and there were no changes.
“We’re not living outside of what is going on. But you see Okeechobee [Music Festival] is going on this weekend, and Gasparilla [Music Festival, in Tampa] is happening this weekend. We don’t have a magic eight ball, but we are monitoring it and evaluating it,” Sullivan said.
“We don’t have a magic eight ball, but we are monitoring it and evaluating it.”
Melissa Sullivan,
SunFest spokeswoman