2018 Russian River Jazz Festival canceled

Organizers say it was a 'difficult decision' to cancel this year's event at Johnson's Beach in Guerneville, scheduled for the weekend after Labor Day.|

The 2018 Russian River Jazz Festival, originally scheduled for Sept. 8-9 at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville, has been postponed until 2019.

“Johnson’s Beach has been home to music festivals for 43 years, so it was a difficult decision to announce the postponement of the September festival,” Richard Sherman, president of Omega Events, which produces festivals at Johnson’s Beach, said in a press release statement.

“We are proud to have celebrated the 100th anniversary of Johnson’s Beach in June with the Goo Goo Dolls,” Sherman added.

The plans announced last spring for this summer’s festival schedule at the venue, were an ambitious departure from recent history.

“In history, the blues festival took place in June and then the Russian River Jazz Festival was in September,” Dan Poirier, co-owner and general manager at Johnson’s Beach, explained in June. “That lasted until 2010. Then the two festivals were merged into one event in the fall. We’re going back to the old format this year, because it’s our centennial.”

This year, the June 9 annivesary show was followed the next day by a one-day Russian River Blues Festival, starring Robert Cray, Eric Burdon and others. The plan was to follow that with a two-day jazz fest in September.

The anniversary Goo Goo Dolls show sparked some complaints from patrons, prompted by a last-minute cancelation by Shaggy, who had been scheduled as another headliner.

Ticket refunds for the postponed September jazz festival will be issued automatically. For more information, contact tickets@russianriverfestivals.com.

Omega Events plans to produce Russian River blues and jazz festivals next year, with dates to be announced later, a spokesperson for the festival organizers said. Pressed for further explanation of the change in schedule this summer, the spokesperson replied, “There was not a reason offered for this year’s cancellation.”

You can reach staff writer Dan Taylor at 707-521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @danarts.

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