One weekend in September is always marked on almost every North Atlanta student’s calendar: the weekend of Music Midtown. Unfortunately for many festival-goers, the beloved music festival that comes alive in Piedmont Park that so many look forward to has been postponed. With so many students in the process of purchasing tickets and gearing up to see the lineup released, many were devastated to hear the news. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Music Midtown will no longer be putting on their annual concerts for 2020 and now students will have to wait until 2021 to return to Piedmont Park to watch the live performances. 

This is the first year since 2011 that the much-anticipated event will not be happening, and attendees all over Atlanta are starting to feel its absence. With the hundreds of thousands of yearly attendees and the current state of the coronavirus pandemic, many deemed the two an unsafe combination. Students were disappointed at the decision to postpone but understood the reasoning behind it. “I was expecting for it to be canceled,” said junior Josie Bird. “but I was still mad and sad about missing out on such a fun weekend.” 

Usually, attendance to Music Midtown increases with each grade, with the senior class almost always having the most attendees. As many of them will be in college across the country next fall, many seniors look at their last Music Midtown as a chance to make even more high school memories and as one of their final hoo-rahs with their hometown friends. “I probably won’t be coming home next fall for the festival when I’m in college,” said senior Eve Smith. “I’ll miss being able to see people that I haven’t seen in a while at Music Midtown.”

A main attraction to Music Midtown is the many for one package deal. Students love that they get to see several popular artists all in one weekend for the price of one individual concert. Many students save up all summer just to purchase a ticket so they can experience a wide range of concerts and a diverse lineup. Students who have any type of music taste can enjoy the atmosphere of Music Midtown and see performers from their favorite genres. “Music Midtown is great because you can see so many different artists for the price of one,” said junior Alex Carter. “This is one of the only ways I can see live music from big names.” 

The cancellation of Music Midtown and other large events goes on a long list of pandemic related changes. With heavy hearts, many students of North Atlanta will have to wait until next year to have a Corona-free, music-filled weekend for the books.