Maryland Deathfest says canceling is "NOT an option"

Tours, shows, and festivals are being cancelled and postponed for the foreseeable future amid the coronavirus pandemic; March and April dates are off nearly across the board, and shows in May, June, July and beyond are being effected too. The 2020 edition of Maryland Deathfest is scheduled for May 21-24 in Baltimore, putting it well within the range of dates subject to coronavirus effects, but as of now, organizers haven’t made a call to postpone, although they are considering it. What they emphasize isn’t an option, however, is cancellation. “One thing we’d like to forbid around here is the use of the world ‘cancel’,” they write. “This is NOT an option, as unrecoverable money is heavily invested into these bands and we simply cannot cancel it and abandon it.” Here’s their full message, via Facebook:

Update regarding Covid-19 and its potential impact on MDF:

It has been 8 days since our last post regarding this. In pandemic terms, that feels more like a month, as the situation has obviously gotten worse on a global scale. We, like everyone else, are watching all of this unfold. We are very much aware of the border closures, travel restrictions, lock downs, and the potential impact that this could have for both attendees and bands.

We need your understanding, patience, and support more than ever right now. Everything we’ve dedicated the last 18 years of our lives to is at stake, so we’re asking everyone to trust that any final decision made will be in the best interest of everyone involved.

One thing we’d like to forbid around here is the use of the world ‘cancel’. This is NOT an option, as unrecoverable money is heavily invested into these bands and we simply cannot cancel it and abandon it. However, we do need everyone to start to process the reality of possibly postponing the event to a later date. Should this occur, we would be able to retain about 90% of the line-up (and replace any bands who can’t play new dates), rather than waiting this out until the last minute just to deal with the nightmare of possible extended government restrictions, many bands canceling, and many attendees not being able to attend.

We are working tirelessly on this, barely sleeping, and hoping we all find a way to get through this together.
Producing this event is an enormous undertaking as is without a global pandemic unfolding before our eyes, so we appreciate your support and understanding during this dark time. We will update you again as soon as humanly possible once more progress has been made on our end, as we know the uncertainty of the situation has everyone on edge.

See the current full day-by-day, venue-by-venue schedule for Maryland Deathfest here, and stay tuned for more updates.