Concert team will contact ticket holders about refunds; no word if Hurricane Milton was direct result of cancelation
Because of Hurricane Milton, there will be no thunder.
Country Thunder Florida, the annual music festival that brings tens of thousands of country music fans to Osceola Heritage Park, was canceled, as announced by the tour and OHP on Friday.
Bailey Zimmerman, Jon Pardi and Luke Combs were scheduled to headline the three-day (Friday-Sunday Oct. 18-20) event.
Country Thunder’s release, as also shared by OHP:
“Country Thunder has worked closely alongside Osceola County Emergency Management and Osceola Heritage Park to assess the venue. It has been determined that we are unable to safely hold this year's Country Thunder and must inform everyone that this year's event has been regrettably canceled due to factors outside of our control.
We sincerely wish the best to the people of Florida as they begin the process to clean up and repair their lives after the destruction caused by Hurricane Milton, and especially our CT Nation fans who have been so supportive of our festival over the years.
We will contact each ticket holder within 30 days with instructions to access refunds, and appreciate your patience in this process. We will also provide updates on our social media so everyone can stay informed.
As always, a huge thank you to CT Nation - for your patronage, your support, and your understanding in what has been a difficult time.”
The statement did not say that the storm that came through Osceola County early Thursday morning was the direct result of the cancelation. But OHP/ASM Global General Manager Robb Larson said that festival workers were not able to install the stage and other infrastructure before the storm passed, and had they done so afterwards they would have been putting it on extremely wet grounds after the storm dropped about 4 inches of rain at OHP. Postponing would not be feasible as many of the performers had future bookings -- Larson said he believed Combs is scheduled to hold a concert next weekend to benefit Hurricane Helene flooding victims in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Tickets were reportedly selling at discount prices a week ago, and at least one attendee of the Silver Spurs’ “Boots, Bulls and Barrels” rodeo said Country Thunder was not promoted at the event like in years past.
Country Thunder Florida began at OHP in 2019 as the successor to Runaway Country, a similar festival that came to OHP. The 2019 event was held in March, but the schedule changed to a fall event after the COVID-19 pandemic.
