Atlanta Loses $50 Million Because Music Midtown Is Canceled
The federal gun control legislation is stalled. However, recent developments in the music festival circuit have highlighted the impact of state laws. Atlanta’s Music Midtown festival was canceled Monday due to a Georgia court ruling which prevented organizers from banning guns at festival grounds.
“Music Midtown has been canceled this year due to circumstances beyond our control,” the festival stated in a statement posted on its website, and social media accounts. “We had hoped to reunite in September, and we hope that we all can get back together to enjoy the festival again soon.”
Music Midtown was established in 1994. It was last held last September. This year, the festival was scheduled for Sept. 17-18. Headliners included Future, Jack White, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemical Romance. Piedmont Park is a 200-acre park that was part of the city’s management. It hosted the past decade of festivals.
Billboard and Rolling Stone both cited industry sources to explain that legal liabilities stemming out of Georgia’s expansive pro-gun laws were responsible for the cancellation. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, officials also blamed “ongoing legal fallout” for the cancellation. Nathan Deal (R), signed a package of bills that extended the areas where concealed firearms can be carried to include bars, parks, airports, and certain churches. The Safe Carry Protection Act (also known as the “Guns Everywhere”) gave the state greater power to override local gun restrictions.
After being escorted from the premises for having a weapon, Phillip Evans, a pro-gun activist sued the Atlanta Botanical Gardens that same year. In 2019, the Georgia Supreme Court decided that firearms could not be prohibited on public land by businesses that had long-term leases. A subsequent appeals court ruling this year further confirmed that short-term events were unlikely to have any effect on gun control.
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