A music festival near Barrie that was set to feature big name bands such as Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kid Rock, and Nickelback has been cancelled just a week before it was set to get underway.
In a post on their website early Wednesday, organizers of the Roxodus Music Festival blamed excessively wet weather that hindered their ability to set up the venue at Edenvale Airport in Clearview Township.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the cancellation of Roxodus Music Festival this year,” organizer Fab Loranger of MF Live Inc. said in a statement. “Our team has worked tirelessly to find a solution in which the show can go on but unfortunately we could not make it happen this year.
In an interview with CP24, Clearview Mayor Doug Measures said that the town granted all necessary permits for the festival move forward and the decision to cancel was made by organizers.
“It’s rather disappointing that the festival has been cancelled. There’s been an awful lot of work gone into this by members of our staff here in Clearview Township, as well as great consideration by our citizens in the area, the neighbours near the actual Edenvale Airport site and members of our council,” Measures said.
He acknowledged that the area has seen has seen a great deal of rain in recent weeks.
“The moisture that’s in the ground up here in Clearview Township is pretty significant. We’ve had an awful lot of rainfall. Even the agricultural fields are full of water. The crops are pretty late getting put in this year,” Measures said.
He added that the wet conditions could make it dangerous to erect the stages needed for the festival.
“These are pretty significant structures that are pretty heavy. The soil is pretty soft so I don’t see it being a safe thing to put a stage up in a soft soil situation,” Measures said.
The refund process for those who have purchased tickets is not yet clear.
The festival was slated to run from July 11 to July 14.
