Northern Minnesota rock festival Moondance Jam cancels all headliners without offering refunds

We’ve all seen a big name or two get dropped from the lineup in the days leading up to a music festival, but this may be the first time the entire list of headliners has been cancelled.

Citing “unforeseen circumstances related to the current economic climate,” organizers of northern Minnesota’s largest rock festival, Moondance Jam in Walker, told ticket holders Monday that all national acts have been canceled from their 33rd annual lineup, July 18-20.

The festival is expected to feature only local artists, and for now, no refunds are being offered.

Among the names that have been cut from the Moondance 2024 lineup are Creed, Switchfoot and what remains of classic rock bands Foghat, Kansas, Blue Öyster Cult and The Sweet. General admission tickets for three days were priced at $200 — and are still on sale at that price, according to the festival’s website.

Now billed as Camp Moondance instead of Moondance Jam, the backup lineup includes Minnesota rock veteran Johnny O’Neill, Mason Dixon Line (paying tribute to CCR) and cover bands such as Mallrats, A Hard Day’s Night, Mad Alice and more.

A festival representative who answered the event’s general phone line Monday afternoon declined to answer ticketholders’ questions about refunds. Festival owner Kathy Bieloh later responded to questions from the Star Tribune but left it unclear whether people would get their money back.

“We are currently working on ticket refund arrangements. There are a lot of things under discussion,” Bieloh said via email. “I don’t have a free hand to say anything at this point.”

She admitted that low ticket sales were the reason for the cancellation of the program.

In its Facebook post announcing the lineup “changes,” the Moondance team outlined a few alternative options for current ticket holders, in addition to refunds. These include getting four free tickets for every ticket purchased for this year’s festival or holding on to this year’s tickets until next year.

“We understand the disappointment this news may bring to our loyal fans and we share those sentiments,” the message read. “Our commitment to delivering an exceptional experience remains unwavering.”

The comments section under Moondance’s post has been disabled so ticket holders cannot comment on the news, but fans have expressed their disappointment in other posts.

“What a way to fool people,” one fan, Brian Casey, wrote under a post from country music station 98.1 Country, which called Moondance’s announcement “shocking.”

“All we have is just a bunch of bar bands,” Haylee Kosobucki lamented under a post from Creed, who added a date in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on July 20 in place of the Moondance concert. Creed is also scheduled to perform closer to the Twin Cities at the Treasure Island Casino Amphitheatre on August 17.