In news that New Orleans locals and visiting festival goers have been anticipating for days, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival has announced that 2020 Jazz Fest is postponed.

Jazz Fest 2020 will now take place in the Fall, though no further details about specific dates were shared. The news arrives while residents are undergoing what is essentially a citywide shutdown during the ongoing novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 17, 2020, there are 171 confirmed cases of the virus in Louisiana.

The move to the Fall reflects a similar one from French Quarter Festival, which was forced to move its original dates of April 16-19 to October 1-5.

The 51st annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell was scheduled to kick off on April 23, 2020. The Who, Dead & Company, Stevie Nicks, Foo Fighters, Lizzo, Lionel Richie, Wu-Tang Clan and more were scheduled to perform at the sprawling event, largely considered to be not only the pre-eminent music festival in New Orleans, but one of the most attended in the world (in 2019, Jazz Fest celebrated its 50th year with  475,000 attendees).

For more information, visit the official website for Jazz Fest 2020.