After a 2020 cancellation and a delayed, downturned return last September, the Basilica Block Party is going on hiatus in 2022 so organizers can "rethink" the 26th annual mid-summer music fest outside Minneapolis' biggest church.
"Live events have had to rethink their strategy and future because of COVID, and the Block Party is no different," Holly Dockendorf, special events manager at Basilica of St. Mary, said in a news release. "Taking a year off will give us time to rethink what the event could be and how to make it better for the future."
The news came Thursday morning as other Upper Midwest summer festivals started announcing their 2022 lineups this week, including Des Moines' Hinterland and Milwaukee's Summerfest.
A spokesperson for Rock the Garden, which usually lands in mid-June outside the Walker Art Center near the basilica, said organizers hope to announce their plans for 2022 in the coming weeks. Rock the Garden was called off in both 2020 and 2021.
Last year's Basilica party was moved to Sept. 10-11 from its usual early July weekend because of COVID safety precautions, and it still faced a few tough breaks.
Its Saturday headliners, the Avett Brothers, canceled two days beforehand after members of their crew tested positive. Concerns about COVID lingered among attendees, too, and it became one of the few big festivals to implement a proof-of-vaccine requirement. Fewer than 10,000 people turned out per night for a youthful lineup that also included AJR, Motion City Soundtrack, Spoon and the Black Pumas — down from the typical crowds of 15,000 or so.
The festival had enjoyed an uptick in attendance in 2019, when international conglomerate Live Nation took over booking from local mainstay Sue McLean & Associates and brought in Kacey Musgraves, Jason Isbell and Semisonic. But even Live Nation was hit hard by COVID in 2020 and 2021.
"Compared to previous non-COVID years, attendance was down in 2021 and that was expected," Dockendorf said, "but because the pandemic continues with many uncertainties, we thought this would be a good time to take a planned hiatus."
The block party was started in 1995 primarily as a fundraiser for upkeep and restoration of the Basilica of St. Mary, the 108-year-old Catholic cathedral on Hennepin Avenue between 16th and 17th streets N. in downtown Minneapolis. Over the years, the event has raised more than $5 million.
