News

Louisiana’s Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff Canceled: Festival Featuring Eric Church, Thomas Rhett, And More Called Off

Ticketholders received notice of the cancelation on Wednesday, just 24 days until the event was set to take place.

Lauren Jo Black

| Posted on

August 7, 2024

7:47 pm

Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff

The 2024 Louisiana’s Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff, featuring Eric Church, Jon Pardi, Ashley McBryde, and Thomas Rhett, has been canceled.

When Was The Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff?

The event was slated to take place during Labor Day weekend on Saturday, Aug. 31 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA, welcoming in the start of college football season. Tickets for the event went on sale in April.

The 2024 Louisiana’s Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff was set to be the second annual event, following last year’s successful show featuring Garth Brooks, Lainey Wilson, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Upon the announcement of the star-studded show, Jeff Hundley, Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO, said, “The first-ever Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff was a tremendous success and featured one of the largest concert crowds in Superdome history. We’re thrilled this year to welcome four outstanding country music artists to New Orleans for the second annual event. It should be a great show and, given the stature of these artists, will be a nice shot in the arm for the tourism economy.”

Why Was The Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff Canceled?

Without warning and less than a month until the show, the event has been canceled without reason. A statement shared on Ticketmaster reads, “Unfortunately, the Event Organizer has had to cancel your event.”

Refunds Will Be Issued

The ticketing giant told fans that a refund would be issued to the original form of payment within 14-21 days.

No additional information was provided and the official event website yields a 404 error, stating, “The page you are looking for no longer exists.”

Additionally, a quick look at the festival’s social media pages, including Instagram and Facebook, includes no mention of the now-canceled 2024 event. However, the official X page (formerly Twitter), includes a post from April 25 promoting event ticket sales.

🎶 2024 #SugarBowl #CountryKickoff

🎟️𝙉𝙊𝙒 𝙊𝙉 𝙎𝘼𝙇𝙀!

🎤 @ericchurch, @ThomasRhett, @JonPardi & @AshleyMcBryde

📆Saturday, August 31st
🏟️ @CaesarsDome

🔗 https://t.co/QmdnRym7vS pic.twitter.com/Au0b5Yuxli
— Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff (@CountryKickoff) April 25, 2024

A separate page for the event has no mention of the 2024 Louisiana’s Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff and states, “Stay tuned for news regarding a potential 2025 event.”

According to that website, proceeds from the event would support the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s commitment to the community. This includes funding youth events, scholarships, and programs that help recruit, recognize, and retain teachers.

Written by

Lauren Jo Black

Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.