Country Thunder postponed until 2022 due to COVID-19

Country Thunder is being postponed until 2022 as COVID-19 continues to impact public events and borders.

The show held near Craven had been scheduled for July 8-11 this year, but will now not return until July 15-17, 2022.

All tickets for the 2021 show will be automatically honoured for 2022.

“This is not the news that our fans want to hear or the news that we wanted to deliver,” said Troy Vollhoffer, Country Thunder Saskatchewan CEO.

“But, as we have learned, and given these extenuating circumstances, the decision-making process is completely out of our hands.”

Speaking to the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Wednesday, Country Thunder general manager Kim Blevins said there were two major factors in the decision: Ongoing restrictions regarding borders and travel, as well as provincial health orders.

Neither seem to be lifting any time soon.

“We’re getting to the point now where we just don’t have confidence that these festivals will be able to go forward. So we had to make a decision,” Blevins said.

“It’s taken out of our hands at this point. We’d love to do a show (in Saskatchewan) in 2021. We just don’t see how we can do it. So we’re going to pull the pin for 2021 and look forward to bigger and better in 2022.”

Blevins said the music industry has been “devastated” during the pandemic.

“We were the first ones to shut down. It looks like we’re going to be the last ones to reopen, which is very difficult for a business like ours,” she said.

However, Country Thunder is proceeding in the United States. Blevins said the big difference is the speed in the U.S. vaccination effort.

“I’m from Saskatchewan originally but I live down in the U.S. now and as someone living in the U.S., it’s a completely different feeling down here,” Blevins said.

“People are moving around. People are still sort of wearing masks but as more people get vaccinated, things are opening up more and more. We’re hoping to do our shows at full capacity. Obviously we’ll be following any (Centers for Disease Control) guidelines if there are any left at that time.”