If you were looking forward to a beachside music festival in Chicago next month, you'll have to hold out until next summer. Yesterday co-organizers Jam Productions and React Presents announced that this year's edition of Mamby on the Beach has been cancelled and that all ticket holders for the Montrose Beach event will be automatically refunded beginning next week.
In a release, organizers stated that high water levels (which have eliminated a portion of the festival's planned footprint) and the presence of federally protected Great Lakes Piping Plover birds at Montrose Beach made the location an unsuitable site for the event. While organizers worked with the Chicago Park District and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to find a backup lakefront venue, it was eventually decided that relocating Mamby on the Beach a little more than a month before it was scheduled to begin wouldn't be possible.
Originally slated for August 23 and 24, Mamby's 2019 lineup boasted acts like Flying Lotus, Brockhampton, Virtual Self, Sylvan Esso and Noname. The festival's planned move to Montrose Beach was revealed earlier this year—during previous years, Mamby was held at Oakwood Beach in late June.
While the event's sudden cancellation is certainly a bummer, there are still plenty of summer music festivals to keep you busy through mid-September. Plus, we're guessing that at least a few of the acts scheduled to play Mamby on the Beach may take the stage at a local music venue instead of a lakefront stage.