Capital Hoedown A No-Down

Ottawa’s Capital Hoedown is the latest summer casualty as organizers pull the plug on the August country music festival.

Scheduled for Aug. 10-12 at the Numech Ranch, promoter Denis Benoit announced he was canceling the festival, citing “higher than expected costs, upfront production expenditures and lower than anticipated ticket sales,” according to the Ottawa Citizen newspaper.

Staged at LeBreton Flats in 2011, this year’s Hoedown was to take place at Walter Baker Park. However, that site was lost when Benoit didn’t pay the city a deposit, resulting in the move to Numech Ranch. But the city refused to grant him a permit for Numech, effectively putting the kibosh on the festival.

Regardless of problems, you can’t call the festival’s intended lineup a non-starter. Hoedown’s Facebook pages lists Taylor Swift, Reba, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, The Band Perry, and Ronnie Dunn among the artists scheduled to appear.

But that’s all water under the contractual bridge as this year’s Hoedown takes an unintended breather. In a Q&A released today, Benoit said credit card charges should be refunded within a week. Benoit also said Hoedown will be back next year.

Click here for Hoedown’s website and here for the festival’s Facebook page.