Houston Open Air, Another Harvey Casualty

Well, damn. I’d wondered, honestly, if it might happen — after all, we’ve seen a lot of cancellations of shows of various sizes, but so far the raft of upcoming festivals seemed to be somewhat immune.

Turns out that’s not the case. Word came down earlier today from the organizers of the Houston Open Air metal festival that they, too, would be calling off the festivities. They provided the following statement:

Due to unforeseen and ongoing circumstances as well as continuous relief efforts needed to help stabilize Houston and its surrounding areas, we are cancelling Houston Open Air. All tickets purchased online or by phone through Ticketmaster will be refunded automatically. Please allow up to 3 weeks for the refund to be processed. If you purchased directly from the box office, contact the venue directly for refund details at (281) 364-3010.

It’s a damn shame, really, especially after the debacle that was last year’s Open Air festival, which was evacuated on Day 2 due to a particularly nasty storm tearing through the area. Granted, the lineup wasn’t my favorite thing — barring Mastodon, Suicidal Tendencies, Prophets of Rage, and Halestorm, most of the bands on the list just made me shrug (and I’ve seen three of the four live already, so y’know). But even with that, I’d hoped this would be the Redemption Year for Open Air, and…well, there it goes.

Still, I get it. Houston’s still wounded, and will be for a long while, and it’s going to be rough for any festival that comes through town for the forseeable future. Best of luck to the Open Air team for next time…