The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has cancelled its 2021 event, as the region experiences an “exponential growth” in COVID-19 cases.

The festival was to take place between 8-17 October and feature a line-up of Stevie Nicks, Foo Fighters, Lizzo, H.E.R., Demi Lovato, Ludacris, The Beach Boys and Brittany Howard, among others. It marks the second time the festival has been cancelled, after its 2020 event was axed earlier on in the pandemic.

“As a result of the current exponential growth of new COVID cases in New Orleans and the region and the ongoing public health emergency, we must sadly announce that the 2021 edition of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival… will not occur as planned,” festival organisers said in a statement.

“We now look forward to next spring, when we will present the festival during its traditional timeframe. Next year’s dates are April 29 – May 8, 2022.”

pic.twitter.com/HYiLixCzW2

— New Orleans JazzFest (@jazzfest) August 8, 2021

Ticketholders will be contacted this week about the refund and rollover process.

The Jazz Fest’s cancellation comes at a time when other festivals in the US are choosing to proceed with large attendance numbers. In recent weeks, Rolling Loud Miami went ahead with an attendance of 80,000 people, while Lollapalooza in Chicago welcomed 100,000 music fans, 90 per cent of which reportedly provided evidence of vaccination.