Well, this fucking sucks.
WhigFest Music & Arts Festival—which was shaping up to be a nice, multi-venue replacement for Ybor City’s long-postponed Heatwave festival—is canceled.
Organizers made the announcement on Friday, just over two weeks before the festival was set to take place on Feb. 16.
“This is an unfortunate situation, and will offer refunds for all ticket holders who would like them,” the post says. “We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your continued support.”
In a text message with CL, Whigfest co-founder Kevin Lilly blamed the change of plans on "A series of unforeseen events.”
“One of the headliners being rescheduled forced us to alter the festival this year,” Lilly wrote, “we are very happy to be hosting the Infamous Stringdusters and will still have a great weekend of independent music."
And that right there is the silver lining.
Whigfest ticketholders hoping to see the Infamous Stringdusters headline will still be able to since that show is now happening at The Attic above Rock Brothers Brewing on Sunday, Feb. 16. Whigfest organizers said that tickets already purchased will be honored for this performance. Organizers added that, Shovels & Rope's performance will be rescheduled for a yet to be determined date.
“We will email all current Whigfest ticket holders prior to a public onsale for that show to offer a discount,” the cancelation post says.
Another great element of Whigfests past was the ability to walk into a venue and walk out with a new favorite local band to love, and that hasn’t changed much in the wake of the cancelation since all local performances have been rescheduled at The Attic on Friday Feb. 14 and Saturday Feb. 15. Organizers wrote that the local shows will be included in already purchased Whigfest tickets, “to offer 3 days worth of music.”
The post adds that all ticket purchasers have been emailed about the changes; anyone who has not received an email or is looking for more information should contact Micah Davidson at micah@midwoodentertainment.com.
So to recap, Whigfest Music & Arts Festival 2020 is theoretically canceled in Ybor City, but there are still plenty of great shows—including Infamous Stringdusters’ headlining set and a plethora of locals—on deck. See more information on Facebook.
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This article appears in Jan 30 – Feb 6, 2020.