If you were holding your breath in the hopes that Lollapalooza 2020 wouldn’t get canceled due to the coronavirus, we have good news and bad news. Chicago’s largest music festival has officially been canceled by the city, per the Chicago Tribune. The city has canceled all events through Labor Day, including Taste of Chicago and the Chicago Jazz Festival. Lollapalooza, planned for July 30 to August 2, was expected to draw more than 100,000 music lovers on each of its four days. There had been no lineup announced or tickets sold, but there are still many disappointed fans. In place of the event, Lollapalooza will host a weekend-long livestream event, in collaboration with the city, over the same dates. The livestream will feature performances from “around the city and beyond,†“epic archival sets†from Lollapaloozas globally, exclusive “footage from the 1990’s,†and more. “It’s difficult to imagine summer without our annual weekend together sharing the undeniable energy generated when live music and our incredible community of fans unite,†reads a release posted on Twitter. “Keep July 30 — August 2, 2020 on your calendars as we honor our annual tradition by bringing Chicago, and the world, together around our common bond of community, civic engagement and, of course, live music.â€
The late-summer festival took its time announcing the cancellation, trying to wait out the coronavirus pandemic. Other festivals have postponed dates to later in the year, like April’s Coachella. It was moved to the second and third weekends of October, but acts are reportedly being pushed back to 2021, making a spooky desert festival look less likely. Alas, summer 2020 … we hardly knew ye.