Louder than Life, Inkcarcertion and Aftershock to Require Proof of Vaccination or Negative Test Upon Entry


2021-08-12

Fans crowd the stage during a popular summertime music festival.

Story and photo by Anne Erickson

Several hard rock and metal music festivals happening this fall will require proof of full vaccination or a negative test upon entry

Danny Wimmer Presents, the festival promoter and producer behind a bevy of major hard rock and metal music festivals in the U.S., is changing course for this fall. With a number of fall tours and music festivals, including the 2021 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, getting canceled due to the ongoing pandemic, Danny Wimmer has announced that many of their upcoming festivals will require proof of full vaccination or a negative test upon entry.

So far, the festivals that will require vaccination or a negative test include Louder Than Life, Aftershock and Inkcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival. All three festivals shared the announcement via social media, and all three disabled comments on the posts. The news comes as the delta variant is spreading across the U.S.

“We are at an unprecedented crossroads with uncertainty about whether or not our festivals will happen this Fall,” Danny Wimmer said in a statement. “It is not my nature to idly sit back and let others decide our fate. Instead, I am going to do everything in my power to ensure that our festivals happen, even if that means enacting policies that some people may not agree with. But before you react negatively to our policy, please consider this.”

Wimmer added, “What I see is that the fans feel the world needs music festivals now more than ever. We need to bring people back together to heal from the past 18 months. We need to get the people and artists whose livelihoods depend on live events back to work. I am confident that these requirements are what is needed to guarantee that we have fun and safe festivals this Fall.”

Lollapalooza 2021 took place in Grant Park earlier this month, and that festival was one of the first of its kind to require proof of full vaccination or a negative test upon entry.

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