Lover & Friends Festival – scheduled for today and featuring Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys and Mary J. Blige’s headlining set – has been canceled due to expected extreme weather in the Las Vegas area.
On Friday night, hours before the one-day festival was to begin, organizers announced on social media that the festival was called off due to “dangerous weather” in the forecast for Saturday.
“Organizers of the Lovers & Friends Festival have been monitoring the weather for several days and are actively preparing for strong winds on Saturday,” organizers said in a statement.
“However, the National Weather Service has now issued a high wind warning, which includes dangerous winds of 30-35 mph with gusts potentially exceeding 60 mph. Following advice from the National Weather Service and in consultation with local public officials, we must make the safest decision for our fans, artists and staff and cancel tomorrow’s Lovers & Friends Festival.
Organizers acknowledged how disappointing the last-minute cancellation of the event was, especially to those who had traveled to Las Vegas and booked hotel rooms to attend the festival. Organizers said, “This was an incredibly heartbreaking decision as we know fans have traveled from around the world to enjoy this incredible lineup of superstars and have been looking forward to this event for many months.” “We’ve worked hard to create an amazing program for you, and we’re just as disappointed as you are.”
The Lovers & Friends Festival boasted a massive lineup that – in addition to the headliners – included a performance by Lil Wayne tha carter iiiBackstreet Boys, Gwen Stefani, Usher performing StatementNas, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Nelly Furtado, and dozens of others at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.
The 2024 iteration of the festival got off to a shaky start when it was initially announced that Blige was one of the performers, only for the singer to deny that she would perform; A few days later – and after her name was advanced to the lineup – Blige confirmed her participation.
Lovers & Friends has been plagued with hiccups since its inception in 2020. In 2023, Lil Jon considered a possible lawsuit against Live Nation, which promotes the Vegas event, at the festival using the same name as his 2004 hit with Ludacris and Usher, “Lovers and Friends.” ” In 2022, a false alarm gun scare at the festival caused panic among the crowd, leaving three attendees hospitalized with minor injuries.
When the Lovers & Friends lineup was first announced in 2020, several singers and rappers publicly claimed that they were unaware of their participation in the event, stating that they were never informed about the festival. And he had not received the deposit payment. , while others noted dissatisfaction with the lineup itself.
Previous issues had left some festival goers apprehensive about the status of this year’s festival, which has now been cancelled. The organizers promised that the money would be refunded to ticket holders within 30 days.
