After bringing Run-DMC, Jill Scott, and other hip-hop and R&B legends to downtown Durham last year, the Art of Cool Festival has announced that it’s joining the coronavirus-cancellation fray.
“In light of the current climate in our nation and the world,” the festival told supporters, the 2020 iteration—scheduled for September 26–28—would not take place.
“We will continue to work with our sponsors, the city of Durham, and the state of North Carolina to produce a 2021 event that will definitely be worth the wait,” the festival said in an announcement.
The end of September is six months away, and most people—and most economists—are clinging to “over by August” hopes, which makes pulling the plug this early surprising. As of now, after all, the American Dance Festival is still on for this summer, as are IBMA and Hopscotch, which also take place in September.
We reached out to Art of Cool yesterday to learn more about the decision but didn’t hear back; we’ll let you know if we do.
bhowe@indyweek.com
