Music Midtown canceled, potentially due to Georgia gun laws

August 1st, 2022

Crowd at Music Midtown in Piedmont Park on Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018, in Atlanta. (Photo by Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)

This story will be updated.

Music Midtown is officially canceled for 2022.

The festival released a statement Monday morning saying the event would not go on as planned and refunds would soon be available.

According to Rolling Stone, the reason for the cancellation may be due to Georgia gun laws and the festival’s inability to prohibit firearms at the event.

Specifically, a 2019 court ruling on Georgia’s Safe Carry Protection Act that said while businesses and groups with long-term leases for state-owned land could legally ban guns, those with shorter-term leases — like Music Midtown — could not.

“Public policy has real impacts and in this case – economic and social implications on a great tradition,” Atlanta City Council president Doug Shipman said on Twitter.

“It is a great loss for our community that Music Midtown is not taking place this year,” said William Pate, president and CEO, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. “This festival has been an Atlanta tradition for decades and has provided great memories for visitors and residents alike.”

Requests for comments to Live Nation and C3 Presents have not yet been returned. The office of Gov. Kemp has declined comment for this article.

Atlanta’s annual hip-hop/R&B One Music Festival also told WABE it has no comment on the Music Midtown cancellation and its potential relation to Georgia’s gun laws, and the festival’s inability to keep guns out. One Music is set for this October in Central Park.