Lollapalooza has announced a massive four-night livestream including archival footage from previous editions of the festival, as well as new, original performances from the likes of Kali Uchis, Vic Mensa, Jamila Woods, Tanks and the Bangas, Pink Sweat$, H.E.R., and more. There woll be three special performances throughout the weekend - the first Porno for Pyros reunion in 24 years, a tribute to David Bowie with pianist Mike Garson, and a special performance of Kind Heaven Orchestra featuring Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins. The lineup also boasts “fan-favorite” archival sets from Paul McCartney, Metallica, The Cure, OutKast, LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, Lorde, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Tyler the Creator, Run the Jewels, ASAP Rocky, Chance the Rapper, Tenacious D, Cypress Hill, Jane’s Addiction, Alabama Shakes, Tove Lo, Portugal. the Man, Kehlani, LL Cool J, Princess Nokia, Polo G, and more. Lolla2020 livestream goes down Thursday, July 30th – Sunday, August 2nd beginning at 5:00 p.m, on YouTube.

The three-day rock festival formerly known as Herd Immunity Fest took place as planned Thursday (July 16th) through Saturday (July 18th) outside the Q&Z Expo Center in Ringle, Wisconsin, in the US. It made headlines for its name, and for the fact that it was going to be staged in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, causing some bands to drop out. Despite the problems, the festival, renamed to Mini July Fest, was held with Sponge, Flaw, Saving Abel, AC/DC cover band Thunderstuck, and Static-X filling the bill. Organizers limited tickets to 2,500 in an effort to maintain social distancing, but the photos and videos from the cornfield suggest the number of attendees was considerably less than that.

Ugandan electronic music festival Nyege Nyege will take place this year as well, from September 3 - 6, as both physical and online celebration, Fact reports. Nyege Nyege Tapes and Hakuna Kulala will be throwing a party in full compliance with COVID safety measures, featuring a stacked lineup including Afrigo Band, Jose Chameleon and East African dancehall queen Cindy, as well as a full Nyege Nyege roster including Kampire, Slikback, MC Yallah, Fulu Miziki, Nilotikaa and more. Digital edition will involve live reports from the site, 360 degree live cameras, virtual stages, an industry-focused “artists only” area, with international crews joining the party from Portugal, Canada, Spain, Palestine..

Next month the world will see the first post-corona festival, a nu-metal fest pointedly named Herd Immunity Festival, Metal Injection reports. It's taking place in Q&Z Expo Center in Ringle, Wisconsin, July 16-18, with tickets going for $105.50. No big names there, really, just the seemingly bravest - Static-X, Nonpoint, Dope, a reunited Bobaflex, Blacktop Mojo, Royal Bliss, Flaw, Kaleido, SAUL, Versus Me, a Metallica tribute band called ONE, an AC/DC tribute band called Thunderstruck. It appears the promoter Ardent Entertainment is intending to carry on as if everything will be fine - there is no mention of social distancing practices or any assurance of sanitary precautions above and beyond the norm. However, as CoS reports, soon after the festival was announced Nonpoint dropped out, because of the name, and the festival organizers dropped the "herd" part from the fest's name.

Live Nation has set up a plan for concert season 2021 that would see artists taking more risk and financial burden, as Billboard reports. Live Nation wants to reduce artist fees by 20 percent from 2020 levels. If a festival is canceled because of poor ticket sales, the giant promoter wants the artist to get 25 percent of the guarantee (now it's a full guarantee). If an artist pulls out of a fest without good reason, Live Nation wants the artist to pay a penalty of double that guarantee (now, artists owe the promoter nothing in that case).

The World Health Organisation has issued their latest recommendations on holding mass gatherings during the current coronavirus pandemic advising that governments and local authorities can consider allowing mass gatherings to take place when it is safe to do so, Republic World reports. "Mass gatherings are not merely recreational events; they have important implications on the psychological well-being of large number of individuals (eg religious events), can play an important role in promoting healthy behaviours (eg. sports), provide employment for a great number of people, and could leave a legacy of improved assets or capacities developed as a result of hosting a mass gathering event” - WHO suggests in their latest recommendations. “Since mass gatherings have substantial political, cultural, social, and economic implications, authorities should assess the importance and necessity of an event and consider the option that it may take place, provided all associated public health risks are adequately addressed and mitigated”.

Reading & Leeds Festival managing director Melvin Benn has proposed an increase in coronavirus testing in order to enable the full re-opening of music venues, NME reports. Benn advocates widespread public use of the NHS COVID-19 App, which aims to automate the process of contact tracing and spark an increase in population testing, as the UK’s leisure industries “cannot operate with the measures that are currently in place”.

Independent music festivals in Britain are at risk of collapsing after coronavirus forced many to cancel their 2020 editions, a new report by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has warned. Some 92% of AIF members - including Gloucestershire’s 2000trees, London’s Meltdown and Sheffield’s Tramlines - warn they face ruinous costs as a result of cancelled events, with the vast majority (98.5%) not covered by insurance for cancellation as a result of coronavirus, the Guardian reports.

A pair of extraordinary English gentleman Adam Hardman and Jonathan Oakes made a recreation of Glastonbury using thousands of tiny Lego bricks, assembled in Hardman's back garden, NME reports. The pair’s take on the festival featured their own version of the famous Pyramid Stage, and an array of special effects which they created using a smoke machine, party lighting and sparklers. An iPad was also used to display previous performances from the likes of The Killers, the Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay, Dolly Parton and the Chemical Brothers.

Ireland government announced exit plan from coronavirus lockdown, revealing that festivals with the appropriate distance between individuals practiced could return in August, NME reports. The final, fifth phase – which will be introduced on August 10 – mentions the return of larger social gatherings, including music festivals, but only “in accordance with both indoor and outdoor number restrictions and where social distancing can be complied with”.

"Is there a way that a real-life music festival can be replicated in the virtual world?" - Guardian asks, and answers affirmatively, in case of Sea Change festival, at least. "Decision not to postpone or cancel but instead reincarnate the festival online, sooner and for free, was bold but also canny", the G argues. Many of the sets (including Jon Savage, Cool Greenhouse, the Orielles, Douglas Dare, Manu Delgado, Qasim Naqvi) proved brief affairs, but "the key to the weekend’s success was that by moving across platforms — from video streaming to Soundcloud, Twitter to Spotify to Instagram live – and providing links to explore works further (or purchase online), it managed to create both texture and a sense of companionability. Not once did it feel a flat or lonely endeavour; rather it found a great swell of congregation".

Large festivals, keen not to lose a year’s worth of planning and income, are rescheduling for after the pandemic has passed its peak in summer, but before a potential second wave of infection in winter. In the UK, the large-scale Newcastle indie festival This Is Tomorrow has been moved from May to August. In September and October there are revised dates for Detroit’s Movement, Tennessee’s Bonnaroo, EDC in Las Vegas and both legs of Coachella in California. In Ibiza, a marketing blitz is under way to move spring events to autumn. The Guardian is reporting on the possibility of big gatherings in the autumn, and on the willingness of fans to attend such events.

Many festival organisers are hoping that people who have tickets will keep them for next year because if they need to refund on mass, they might not be able to return next year, according to the UK Association of Independent Festivals (AIF). Staging festivals is a year round endeavour, the BBC reports. There's a cashflow concern and a lot of money has already been spent that festivals won't get back - festivals of all sizes have already paid out on things like artist deposits, contractors' deposits and fees, press and marketing, staff costs and infrastructure.

Organizers of the Glastonbury have cancelled this year's edition fo the festival after the UK government advised people to avoid mass gatherings, Metro reports. Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar were due to appear end of June at the muddy British fields, but they won't this year. Organisers took the decision to call off the event before 1 April, when festival-goers were expected to pay the remaining balance of their £270 tickets. Fans who had already paid the £50 deposit will be allowed roll over that sum to next year, guaranteeing "the opportunity to buy a ticket for Glastonbury 2021", organisers said. Refunds will also be available for those who want them.

Organizers of the Vive Latino Festival in Mexico City chose to move forward with the event last weekend because “authorities are telling us that we are in Phase 1 [of the Coronavirus epidemic]” and “suspending mass events is not necessary”, according to Billboard. Nevertheless, many of the festival’s scheduled artists dropped out of the event, but not Guns N' Roses - they played a 22-song set that was highlighted by the first live performance of the 'Use Your Illusion II' track 'So Fine' in 27 years. Festival-goers were subject to intense measures upon their entry into the grounds - all attendees had their temperatures taken prior to being allowed access, Consequence of Sound reports. Guns N’ Roses intend to play all concerts in areas that haven’t limited public gatherings - in Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic.

This year’s Coachella, originally set for the first two weekends in April, will now take place in October (9.-11.10 and 16.-18.10.), the Verge reports. Additionally, festival organizer Goldenvoice announced that the country music festival Stagecoach, which takes place at the same venue as Coachella in Indio, California, is also being rescheduled to October (24.-26.4. to 23.-25.10.). There is no word if the festivals will have the same lineups. Unlike SXSW and Ultra festivals, Coachella and Stagecoach will offer ticketholders refunds if they can’t attend.

30 Seconds to Mars frontman has shared a video of the moment he “nearly died” while mountain climbing. Leto told his Twitter followers how he was left dangling 600ft above the ground after his rope became dangerously frayed by the ropes when climbing with Alex Honold, one of the best free solo climbers in the world. Sharing an image of the rope, he said: "Took a pretty good fall climbing with @AlexHonnold at Red Rock. Looked up and within seconds the rope was being cut by the rock while I dangled some 600 ft in the air". He said of the experience it was "a strange moment – less fear, more matter of fact, and slightly melancholy”. They continued to climb into the night. Later this year, Leto and 30 Seconds to Mars will host their own festival Mars Island on the Croatian island of Obonjan.

An awful lot of the Austin economy depends on the festival, and its cancelation would affect a lot more than just the attendees, Texas Monthly argues in favor of going ahead with plans to hold South by Southwest this year (25,000 people have signed a petition to cancel it). People that depend on SXSW are - "caterers, pedicabbers, ride-hailing drivers, bartenders and servers, tech crew and security staff, and countless others who rely on SXSW as a windfall to pay off bills and get their heads above water each year. A whole host of bars and restaurants are able to weather the slow winter months because they know that, come March, rental fees and prepaid bar tabs will keep them afloat. Hotels and pizza places and portable-toilet rental companies have developed alongside SXSW".

"Once hotbeds of countercultural thinking, psychedelic encounters and free love, festivals underwent their own process of commodification [at the turn of the decade], turning into consumer experiences with clear price tags" - Resident Advisor says in an article about electronic festivals. "One effect of the collapse in record sales is that money shifted towards the live experience: gigs, clubs and festivals... In dance music, producers often found themselves launching DJ careers in order to support their studio graft", RA says, adding "some people in the industry whisper that festival culture is reaching saturation point". So, they should go "back to the spirit of experimentation that first turned these outdoor gatherings into testing grounds for new ways of living in harmony with each other and the planet".

Silence festival is the biggest music fest held in Kathmandu, Nepal, with 1,500 or so metal fans attending. It takes place in two courtyards of a small hotel and restaurant complex in Kathmandu. Festival director Flower KC said he will lose £25,000 on Silence, all covered by him and his friends. But, he has a higher goal: “The idea is guided by the idea that why should it be only mountaineers or hippies who come to Nepal? Why can’t we attract a different breed of people? My goal is to make Nepal a heavy metal destination".

The Roots' Questlove will direct 'Black Woodstock', a documentary about 1969’s Harlem Cultural Festival, held for one month in the summer of '69, featuring performances from Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, BB King and others, Variety reports. The film will feature previously unreleased footage shot by the late Hal Tulchin. The documentary […]

In the western countries, festivals were cancelled this summer due to money issues, in Asia - it's peace, well, actually lack thereof. Organizers of Clockenflap in Hong Kong, one of the most high-profile festivals in Asia, cancelled it because of the continuing protests and unrest in the city. The 60,000-capacity festival was due to run […]

All of the 135,000 tickets for the 50th year of Glastonbury have been sold out in 34 minutes, with a record 2,4 million people signing up to have chance of securing a ticket, Daily Mail reports. The ticket sale was the second fastest in the event’s history, with only the 2014 festival selling out a […]

Women-only festivals have started to happen this year, as a reaction to male-dominated festival scene. KT Tunstall has launched a festival HearHer with female solo artists or women-fronted bands, and women will run the behind-the-scenes production. On the west coast of the US, there’s California Women’s Music and Women Sound Off. Brandi Carlile, the Americana star who won […]

On the Beaches of Portima, Portugal there were 20,000 people of African descent last weekend at Afro Nation, the first festival in the world to celebrate the African Diaspora. It was festival's first year, and in four days it saw live music from Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Jamaica, the UK and the US, performers like Burna […]

San Francisco music festival Outside Lands will allow cannabis sales and a designated smoking area on site for the first time ever. This weekend, festival-goers will be able to buy up to seven grams of non-concentrated cannabis and two grams of cannabis concentrates across all vendors at Outside, Consequence of Sound reports. Music to get […]

100-something kids jumped the fence at Lollapalooza at once to get in. Somebody caught it all on video, and it’s since gone viral. Security doesn’t appear to stop any of them, except for one kid who has a prosthetic leg, well at first. Turns out, security caught up with them right after the events on […]

Yoga workshops, talks, therapies, spirituality, exocit and familiar food - hindu spa? No - music festivals! Womad world music festival, held in England, and Burning Man in the Nevada desert, are turning the music festival culture around from drugs, too much alcohol and bad food, to healthy practices, with attendees going home - healthier then […]

The smaller festivals that have sprung up across the UK have become a crucial part of the musical ecosystem in recent years. Festivals in provincial towns, often supported by local councils, rarely attract the buzziest young artists. But the biggest secondary festivals – such as Victorious in Portsmouth, the Neighbourhood Weekender in Warrington, Hit the North in Newcastle, offer current bands […]

New York Mayor Bill De Blasio has declared a heat emergency, consequently music fest in the city were canceled. OZY Fest is canceled, as is Saturday of PInknic, as well as Coney Island Music Festival, Brooklyn Vegan reports.