WE Fest To Take Year Off To Regroup Under New Owner Live Nation

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Country’s WE Fest, acquired by Live Nation in August, won’t be moving from Detroit Lakes, Minn., but it won’t be taking place in 2020, either, according to Brian O’Connell, the company’s president of country touring.

“After careful consideration, we have decided to postpone WE Fest 2020 and come back strong in August of 2021,” O’Connell told the Twin Cities’ Pioneer Press Nov. 4.

O’Connell emphasized that the hiatus isn’t an indication that Live Nation intends to move or even shutter the festival, but rather a matter of assessing the 37-year-old WE Fest’s tradition and history and begin lining up artists for 2021, according to the paper.

“All of the rumors that are flying around that we’re going to move the festival and all that kind of stuff are not true,” he said. “We want to take the time to get to know the 37-year tradition of WE Fest and talk to as many people as we can who have been involved with it. … There is a lot of history that we need to be respectful of, and a lot of people who are very invested in this festival.”

Live Nation acquired WE Fest from Townsquare Media shortly before its latest edition Aug. 1-3, and the deal, worth about $10 million and including about 200 events, was announced through the latter company’s earnings report Aug. 6.

Because the acquisition took place so close to this year’s festival, O’Connell and his team ““didn’t feel like we had a good enough handle on things” to begin lining up acts for 2020 and announce the first headliners during the even, as had been practice in prior years, according to the paper.

“Instead of just booking a band and throwing tickets up on sale and figuring the rest of it out later, we hit the brakes,” he said.

WE Fest takes place at Soo Pass Ranch in Detroit Lakes, near Minneapolis/St. Paul, and last featured headliners Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn and highlights included Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean, LeAnn Rimes and Billy Currington. The festival hasn’t reported box office to Pollstar but, according to its website, can accommodate up to 50,000 people per day.