If it were a normal year, music festival season would be right around the corner. Unfortunately for Iowa music fans, however, the fanny packs and body glitter will have to wait until next summer. 

Following suit with countless other concert events, the 13th annual 80/35 Music Festival has been canceled due to complications caused by COVID-19.

The 80/35 Music Festival occurs annually in downtown Des Moines through the Des Moines Music Coalition (DMMC). Executive Director Jarin Hart said when planning the festival during the beginning of the pandemic, everything started to build and spiral, leading to the decision to cancel. 

“We came to the conclusion as a team and with the [DMMC’s] board of directors,” Hart said. “We really just needed to have some serious conversations and look at what would be the ramifications of going forward with the festival or canceling.”

The DMMC is a non-profit music management organization responsible for the formation and promotion of 80/35 Music Festival, Gross Domestic Product Music Festival, Little BIG Fest and others.

80/35, being one of the biggest Iowa music festivals, has hosted artists such as Kesha, MGMT, Nas and Weezer. Originally scheduled for early July, the 13th 80/35 will now happen in 2021.

“We faced some pretty big challenges in regards to sponsorship; artists’ availability to travel could be hindered, and we would surely have had some increased costs that would go along with just making sure we can ensure public safety,” Hart said. “All of those things considered, we were fortunate to be in a position where we could make this call without suffering some of the consequences that go along with breaking contracts and that kind of thing.”

Hart said the DMMC considered many different options before landing on cancellation, such as postponement or holding a smaller-scale festival instead. Ultimately, they came to the conclusion it wasn’t worth the risk. 

“As we worked through all the different scenarios, we just kind of realized that even if we’re back to whatever ‘normal’ looks like by July, we just felt that the financial risks that the pandemic created were just insurmountable,” Hart said. 

Emily Steele, a marketing and media contractor for 80/35, said she and DMMC are now focusing their efforts on preparing for 2021. 

Despite having to issue a disappointing message to thousands of festival-goers, Steele said their main goal on the promotion end is to keep spirits high so they can plan for an amazing event that people can anticipate and be heavily engaged in next year.

“A lot of times with annual events, they’re done, you take a quick break, and then you’re back to planning really fast,” Steele said. “This is a huge production, so the idea that we have just a little bit more breathing room is great for us to be just that much more intentional about the process and the event itself.”

The next 80/35 Music Festival will be held July 9 and 10, 2021.