A highly anticipated country music festival hit a bum note… cancelled just before it was set to kick off.
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Country Thunder Alberta in Calgary was called off just two days before it was due to begin.
The June 26-28 festival was set to feature headliners The Red Clay Strays, Kane Brown, and Lainey Wilson, alongside supporting acts like Cameron Whitcomb, Tyler Hubbard, Ian Munsick, Mark Chesnutt, Noeline Hofmann, and Elizabeth Nichols.
“Today, we have made the difficult decision to cancel Country Thunder Alberta 2026,” organizers wrote on Instagram on June 24.
The festival organizers cited issues with the City of Calgary as the reason for the late cancellation. They explained that “active construction, loss of critical infrastructure, and a restrictive noise bylaw made safe and enjoyable execution of the festival impossible.” They added that despite ongoing discussions with the city to resolve these challenges, no solution could be reached.
Mayor Pushes Back After Music Festival Cites Noise Bylaw as a Reason For Calling Off Event
However, Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas disputed the reasons for the cancellation. In a Facebook video posted on June 25, he claimed the noise bylaw did not apply to the festival.
“I was really disappointed to see Country Thunder throw the city and music fans under the bus by falsely blaming our noise rules for canceling their concerts,” Farkas said, pointing out that event staff had previously confirmed the noise laws wouldn’t even kick in until after the concerts wrapped up each night.
“So blaming a midnight music cut off for shutting down your concert that ends at 11 p.m. is absolutely bogus,” he added.
Meanwhile, all fans received a full refund.
Country Thunder Alberta is one of five festivals under the Country Thunder banner. The other four are held in Florence, Arizona; Clearwater, Florida; Craven, Saskatchewan; and Twin Lakes, Wisconsin.