The Harvest Nights Charity Music Festival , a three-day event set to take place this weekend at the John Jimmie Rodeo Grounds in Immokalee, was abruptly canceled just four days before showtime, leaving fans and performers disappointed.
The festival was set to feature an impressive lineup, including headliners Def Leppard, Train, and Brad Paisley. Local country music star Ben Allen, a former contestant on The Voice, was among the performers and was excited to get on stage after recovering from a major heart attack.
"December 27th, I had myself a big old heart attack, 100% blockage in the widowmaker artery. So that was big. That was a bit of a scare and a surprise. But they got me taken care of quickly. And, I was very fortunate to have, you know, a minimal amount of heart damage," Allen said. "So, I'm already back out, playing shows and performing, and still so blessed to get to do what I love to do."
He added, "Sunday morning I received an email. Just giving the basic details of it, that it's beyond the promoter's control, but the entire event is canceled. Unfortunately, they didn't give me any more details than they gave the general public. So, all I really can say is it's frustrating. It's unfortunate. I really wish that it were going on."
Allen’s next scheduled performance will be on February 6 at Hertz Arena, where the Ben Allen Band will open for comedian Jay Leno.
Fans, including Suzanne Staber from Tampa, expressed shock and disappointment. Staber and her husband had been planning to camp on the festival grounds in their new RV. She discovered the festival’s cancellation while scrolling on Facebook.
“As I'm reading this, my husband is putting together all his grilling equipment that we bought for our outdoor kitchen to go with our RV. And when I told him that, he really thought I was punking him [...] And I'm like, no, I'm not. So I showed it to him, and we've been bummed out ever since,” she said.
Organizers of Harvest Nights, Charity Pros, attributed the cancellation to “circumstances beyond the organizers’ control” but did not provide further details.
Despite being advertised as a no-refund event, Charity Pros announced that refunds will be issued to all ticket holders.
Those who purchased tickets on January 4th or 5th should have already received immediate refunds. Others will need to wait for their banks to process the transactions, which may take additional time.