Tuesday, June 10, 2003

Bonnaroo NE Festival Canceled

The Bonnaroo NE festival, which was to feature the Dead, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan over the course of Aug. 8-10 at Enterprise Park in Riverhead, N.Y., has been canceled. The Field Day festival was scheduled to be held at the same venue last weekend, but Suffolk County officials refused to issue the necessary permits just three days beforehand, forcing the event to move to Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.


"Planning for an event of such magnitude as Bonnaroo NE requires the highest level of cooperation and commitment from everyone involved in order to achieve success," reads a message on the event's official Web site. We have investigated and analyzed the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of Field Day, as well as the atmosphere which the cancellation has created."

"After careful consideration, we are disappointed to announce that it is impossible for us to proceed and we must cancel Bonnaroo NE," the statement continues. "We have determined that it would be irresponsible to the artists, to the festival goers, to citizens in the community, and to ourselves to move ahead with our plans given the circumstances that now exist."

Ticketholders will automatically be credited with refunds. Organizers stress that the cancellation will have no bearing on the second Bonnaroo festival, to be held this weekend in Manchester, Tenn. That event is expected to draw 80,000 people and will feature the Dead, the Allman Brothers Band, Neil Young, and James Brown.

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