Allen Secretov recently spoke to The Tennessean about Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival’s third cancellation in five years after this year’s festival was called off due to heavy rains and flooding. In 2021 and 2020, respectively, Hurricane Ida and the COVID-19 pandemic prompted similar cancellations.
In June of 2025, the Bonnaroo festival was canceled midway through the planned four-day event as the National Weather Service anticipated an increased lack of safety due to severe weather conditions. Allen explains that despite upset fans who have been disappointed by Bonnaroo’s frequent cancellations in recent years, the festival organizers made a decision rooted in safety.
“Failure to stop a show in time can carry really tremendous human and legal consequences, far worse than a financial hit from canceling something,” he tells The Tennessean.
Allen continues, adding that “In nearly every case where a festival has been canceled, the core issue comes down to safety versus the show, and organizers really must evaluate whether it is more dangerous to continue the show or shut it down and deal with disappointed fans and financial fallout. Event organizers have a duty to anticipate crowd safety and not just put on performance.”
Read the full article in The Tennessean (subscription required).
