The Boot News Roundup: Record Store Day 2020 Postponed + More Coronavirus Pandemic News
Welcome to The Boot's News Roundup, a morning rundown of the news country music fans need to know. Read on to learn more about the latest goings-on in the country, Americana, bluegrass and folk genres.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is pushing back Record Store Day, an annual celebration of local record stores that includes special, exclusive releases, from April 18 until June 20. "RSD is worldwide and celebrates a record store's place in their community. As good citizens of those communities we want everyone to be safe, healthy and feel comfortable coming to the party," organizers of the event explain in a tweet. Brandi Carlile is 2020's Record Store Day ambassador. -- AS
The iHeartCountry Festival, originally set for May 2 in Austin, Texas, will be postponed to a to-be-announced later date. MusicRow reports that the festival -- which was to feature Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt, Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini, among others -- was affected by the venue's decision to postpone all events "for the immediate future" due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. There is no word yet on when the festival's new date will be announced, but organizers will honor all tickets purchased for the original show. -- AM
A one-off Carrie Underwood concert is being affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The country star's Saturday night (March 14) concert at Durant, Okla.'s Choctaw Casino & Resort is being moved to Sept. 11 "out of an abundance of caution for everybody involved," per a statement on Twitter. Underwood is not out on the road for a full tour at this time. -- AS
Drive-By Truckers are postponing all shows from March 12 through April 4 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic."It truly breaks our hearts but it is what it is," the band says, "and what is right had to be done." The band's tour will resume on April 16 in Asheville, N.C., and the affected shows are being postponed. Fans can visit DriveByTruckers.com for full details. -- AS
The 2020 Austin Rodeo has been canceled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The annual event, which was to feature, among others, Aaron Watson and Carly Pearce, was canceled "at the direction of City of Austin and Travis County, [Texas], officials," a statement explains. "Rodeo Austin will respectfully comply with the public officials' orders," the statement adds, and asks for patience as organizers put together a refund policy. Additional information will be available at RodeoAustin.com. -- AS
The Country Music Hall of Fame has suspended all of its programming amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. According to a press release, the organization will keep the iconic Nashville museum open for now, but will cancel all film screenings, shows and youth programming at the museum through the end of March. The Hall of Fame's Hatch Show Print block parties, originally set for March 13 and March 27, have also been canceled. In addition to these cancellations, the museum is implementing a "proactive deep-cleaning protocol" at all of its venues. -- AM
Kalie Shorr's Stamford, Conn.; Uncasville, Conn.; and New York City Too Much to Say Tour stops have been postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. "I have been having such a great time on the Too Much to Say Tour," Shorr writes on Twitter, adding that she "took the advice of both local and federal government and health officials" into account while making the decision to postpone. New dates for the three shows will be announced "ASAP," she adds, and refunds will be available to those who can no longer attend. "We will be back and we will melt some faces (I promise)," Shorr concludes. -- AS
Brent Cobb's March tour dates have been postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Nine shows in total are affected, between March 13 and March 22, per a tweet from the artist. "As bad as we hate to, I have to postpone my tour. I'm so looking forward to playing some acoustic country music for y’all, it's just going to be on a later date," says Cobb, adding that rescheduled dates are being finalized and will be announced once they are. -- AS
Tyler Rich's first headlining tour, the Rather Be Us Tour, has been postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The West Coast trek, scheduled to begin on March 19 and run through March 29, will now run at a later time, to be determined. While Rich says on Instagram that he's "really down about" the cancellation, and that he's been waiting on his first headlining tour for his entire career, he knows everyone's health is the top priority. "I’ll keep you all posted, and can’t wait to come back with a vengeance and do this damn thing even bigger and better," Rich says. Visit TylerRich.com for more details. -- AS
Whiskey Myers are rescheduling all shows through March 31 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It was a decision made "with the current public health concerns and so many unknowns [in mind and] at the request of local and state officials," the band explains, adding that all shows will be rescheduled. Fans should visit WhiskeyMyers.com for details on specific shows. "See y'all back on the road soon," the band concludes. -- AS
Cody Jinks has postponed shows in New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey due to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). Jinks will reschedule concerts set for this month to later dates "as soon as possible," per a Facebook post. "It sucks and I'm sorry! We just flew to New York to start a tour and got off the plane to find out that [the shows] were cancelled," Jinks writes. "Our thoughts and prayers are with you all." -- AM
Whitey Morgan and the 78s have officially postponed a slew of shows in the Pacific Northwest due to coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns in the region. The band announced that they will move upcoming shows in Portland, Seattle and Spokane, Wash., and Eugene, Ore., in a Facebook post, noting that dates for rescheduled shows will be announced "ASAP." "We love you and are not happy about this," the band writes. "Stay strong! We will reschedule these shows and make it 10 times better next time around." -- AM
The remainder of Nathaniel Rateliff's March solo tour dates have been postponed, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A Washington, DC, concert will now take place on July 31, and shows in New York City have been rescheduled for Nov. 18-19; additional affected tour dates will be rescheduled soon, with details to be shared at NathanielRateliff.com, and concerts in April and beyond are currently scheduled as originally planned. "We are looking forward to bringing this new show back out as soon as possible," Rateliff says in a statement. "We love our fans. Please take care of yourself and all those around you." -- AS
The Allman Betts Band have postponed all of their remaining shows for the month of March, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The band says in a statement that they are currently looking at "options to reschedule." "As soon as we have additional info to share, we will," they say. "Stay safe and follow the guidelines in your community — we all need to do our part to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and look out for each other.” Visit AllmanBettsBand.com for more information. -- AM