Fans Confused After Florida Country Music Festival Abruptly Canceled
on Jun 17, 2024
Kickoff Jam was scheduled to take place in Panama City Beach, Florida, from August 30th to September 1st, but it was unexpectedly canceled
Florida country music fans were disappointed last week when they learned that an exciting new country music festival slated to come to Panama City Beach over Labor Day weekend had been mysteriously canceled. Kickoff Jam featured a stellar lineup of performers, including Randy Travis, Lauren Alaina, Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, and more. Country superstars Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, and Alabama were set as headliners.
Ticket prices for the first-time event ranged from $300-$2,200, and as of the first week of May, general admission tickets had sold out.
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Festival organizers announce the cancellation with a social media message that leaves fans with unanswered questions
The official social media accounts for Kickoff Jam unexpectedly posted a message on June 8th that read:
“Kickoff Jam, the multi-artist country music festival originally scheduled for August 30 – September 1, 2024 at Frank Brown Park in Panama City Beach, Florida has been canceled. After the success of Gulf Coast Jam this past weekend in Panama City Beach, we realized the weekend after Memorial Day is a much better time to host a festival. So, we are going to cancel Kickoff Jam and provide refunds.”
Gulf Coast Jam is a similar multi-day country festival that is scheduled to return on May 28-June 1, 2025. No additional details were given, and comments were disabled across the accounts.
The mayor of Panama City Beach, Stuart Tettemer, told local news:
“We need the events during the off-season and I don’t know what happened with this event…”
Tettemer also expressed frustration that the festival has now left a desirable venue vacant on short notice.
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Fans express their confusion on social media
The vague explanation given by the festival’s organizers left fans with more questions than answers. Some speculated that low ticket sales could be to blame, but the popularity of general admission tickets seems to negate that theory.
Anticipated attendees took to social media to express their concerns, with many questioning the reasoning and others commenting that they thought the event was too good to be true in the first place.
As of yet, no additional comments have been made by the event promoters or artists.
