Atlanta music festival put on hiatus should come to N.C., Gov. Cooper says

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Music Midtown, a popular music festival in Atlanta, is going on hiatus this year, prompting North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper to encourage organizers to move it to the Tar Heel State.

Music Midtown organizers announced Wednesday the festival has been canceled for 2024. Organizers haven’t released details on the reason for the cancelation, according to WBTV’s sister station Atlanta News First.

The festival had traditionally been in September at Piedmont Park in Atlanta.

“North Carolina has proven itself as a top tier entertainment center by hosting everything from the inaugural Lovin’ Life Music Festival in Charlotte to the NHL Stadium Series hockey game in Raleigh last year,” a spokesperson for Gov. Cooper told WBTV Thursday. “These events have significant economic impacts on our state’s economy and the Governor encourages Music Midtown to find its new home in North Carolina.”

According to Atlanta News First, it’s not the first time the festival has been canceled. Since it began in 1994, it went on hiatus from 2006 through 2010 due to a decline in attendance and rising costs. It was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Atlanta News First reports it returned in 2021, but it was canceled once again in 2022. It’s speculated that organizers made this decision over the Georgia gun laws — which would have prevented them from allowing firearms at the event.

In 2023, the festival returned with thousands of attendees over a 3-day period, according to Atlanta News First.

WBTV’s sister station Atlanta News First contributed to this report.

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