No one planned for a pandemic to put our lives on pause. Until the mandated shutdowns, people were living their lives and making plans without fear of spreading a respiratory virus. People spent hundreds on concert tickets, only to have their concerts postponed for almost a year.
Ticket vendors have tried their best to communicate with their customers, but just as there was no way to predict a pandemic starting, there is no way to predict when it will end. Billboard has compiled a long list of cancelled or postponed concerts for the summer of 2020, and it is not the complete list.
Some artists have rescheduled their tours, while others have postponed their tours with the dates not yet being announced. Artists like Lady Gaga and Doja Cat have rescheduled their 2020 tours for 2021, but they might have to be rescheduled again. Other artists like Taylor Swift or BTS have only postponed their tours, and left the dates to be announced.
The problem with unannounced dates is people can’t plan accordingly. Planning for one night three months ahead is easier than planning for a random day that won’t be announced for a while.
Reina Gifford, a second-year student at the University of Colorado, Denver was going to see Harry Styles at the Ball Area last summer. She said she was disappointed that the tour was rescheduled but understands why it had to happen. Her main concern now is another postponement.
“We just don’t know if the tour date it got rescheduled to is actually going to happen,” Gifford said.
Gifford said that her ticket vendor was communicative during the whole process. She said Ticketmaster was clear in staging that she would be keeping the same seats, but that the concert would just be another date. She said she was happy about that, as she got good seats for the venue.
Live music has adapted and gone virtual. Many artists have turned to live stream concerts. Niall Horan held a livestream concert on Nov. 7 to play the songs he would have on his tour. The livestream was partnered with Ticketmaster. Horan performed as he normally would in concert, but to an empty venue with the audience at home.
The future for large gatherings is still far away, but good music will always be good music.
