Bonnaroo music festival offering refunds in anticipation of Ida flooding campground

Hurricane Ida has cast a shadow on the upcoming Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee, where organizers have begun offering full refunds amid fears that rain will flood the campground.

Bonnaroo organizers said Monday they fear parts of the campground will be “rendered unusable” by significant rainfall expected from Ida and will no longer be able to accommodate as many attendees as anticipated.

“Mother Nature has forced us to reduce our camping capacity,” organizers said in a statement, adding that they will offer refunds until Tuesday evening to any ticket holders willing to reconsider attending.

Bonnaroo 2021 is set to run Wednesday through Sunday in Manchester, southeast of Nashville, where the National Weather Service (NWS) has warned Ida, now a tropical depression, may bring heavy rain Tuesday.

[Update: Bonnaroo 2021 has been canceled due to flooding from Ida, organizers announced early Tuesday afternoon.]

Ida made landfall early Sunday in Louisiana as a Category 4 storm. The NWS has predicted it may dump 2-4 inches of rain Tuesday in parts of Tennessee and has issued a flash flood watch.

Bonnaroo is held on a 700-acre farm and attracted 70,000 to 100,000 attendees each year before the coronavirus pandemic. Most guests camp on the property in tents next to their automobiles or in RVs.

“There are low areas of The Farm that may be severely impacted by the rain,” organizers said in a social media post Monday, adding that they planned to evaluate the condition of the grounds on Tuesday afternoon.

Tickets for Bonnaroo 2021 have been sold out since April. It was not immediately clear how many tickets were made available this year, and organizers did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The Washington Times.

Bonnaroo 2021 boasts an eclectic line-up of dozens of artists ranging from rock acts and rappers to jam bands and country groups. Headliners include Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Tyler The Creator and Tame Impala.