Music festival in Atlanta cancelled following law change preventing its ban on guns - News - Mixmag
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Music festival in Atlanta cancelled following law change preventing its ban on guns

The Atlanta-based Music Midtown festival takes place on a gun-permitted park

  • Words: Becky Buckle | Images: Grant Champagne
  • 2 August 2022
Music festival in Atlanta cancelled following law change preventing its ban on guns

Music Midtown has cancelled this year’s festival, reportedly due to gun law issues at the site in Atlanta, Georgia.

Since 2011 the festival has been taking place in the city's Piedmont Park, however a 2019 court ruling has been reported as forcing the 2022 edition to be cancelled due to event placing a ban on firearms which the ruling does not allow for.

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The court ruling related to 2014 legislation which is referred to as the “Guns Everywhere” law - and officially known as the “Safe Carry Protection Act” - which allows residents in Georgia to carry guns in bars, churches, schools and other public locations, but was unclear on whether it applied to privately-run events taking place on public property, such as Music Midtown festival.

In 2019, the Georgia Supreme Court addressed this, ruling that businesses with long-term leases could legally prohibit guns from public land they were hosting events on, but companies with short-term leases, such as the lease Live Nation holds to run Music Midtown festival, could not.

Journalist based in Atlanta, George Chidi tweeted: “My understanding is that it is because Georgia’s gun laws make it impossible to bar firearms from Piedmont Park, a condition required by many artists’ concert riders.”

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Due to run from September 17 to 18, artists set to play included former Mixmag cover stars Denzel Curry and Freddie Gibbs, as well as Future, Mitski, Tinashe, and more.

The festival has not announced that the gun law change is the cause of cancellation to the event; instead they have said it was due to “circumstances beyond our control”.

Music Midtown’s statement adds: “We were looking forward to reuniting in September and hope we can get back to enjoying the festival together again soon.”

Refunds are being issued to ticket holders.

Live Nation, owners of the festival, is yet to release a statement.

Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter

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