Fans Baffled After Sugar Bowl Kickoff Scrapped w/ No Explanation

The 2024 Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff — an event that was billed as New Orleans' answer to the beginning of college football season — has been canceled.

Eric Church was the headliner on a bill that also included Thomas Rhett, Jon Pardi and Ashley McBryde.

The event was scheduled for Aug. 31 at New Orleans' Caesars Superdome, and tickets went on sale in April, but according to local Fox affiliate News 8, it was canceled on Wednesday (Aug. 7) with no explanation as to why.

"Unfortunately, the Event Organizer has had to cancel your event," a statement on Ticketmaster reads.

The Country Kickoff's official Instagram page doesn't reflect the cancelation as of Thursday (Aug. 8), and the account hasn't posted anything since late June.

In the comments section of its most recent post, a small handful of fans asked why the festival won't be back this year.

"Why did the concert get canceled? How about an update," one comment reads.

According to Ticketmaster, fans who purchased tickets to the 2024 Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff will be refunded via their original payment method. Refunds should be processed within 14-21 days.

The 2024 event was supposed to be the second-annual Sugar Bowl Country Kickoff. Last year's concert featured Garth Brooks, Lainey Wilson and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

With no official statement from the event itself, it's unclear whether this year's Country Kickoff will be rescheduled, or whether fans can expect future iterations of the event to take place.

Carena Liptak is an Associate Editor and staff writer at Taste of Country. She specializes in breaking country music news, interviews and lists. In particular, she’s got a soft spot for sad songs — check out her roundup of the 50 Saddest Country Songs of All Time!

Top 20 Songs of 2024, Ranked (So Far)

New country artists rule this Top Country Songs of 2024 list, but that doesn't mean traditional country isn't represented early and often.

Zach Top and Ella Langley are two newcomers that purists may enjoy, while fans of more progressive country music will appreciate Jelly Roll, Post Malone and Shaboozey.

Airplay charts, sales data and streaming numbers helped make this list of country music's Top 20 Songs of 2024, but staff and Taste of Country reader opinion were most influential.

Songs included on previous Top Country Songs lists were not eligible. A song may have been released in 2023, but it had to have the majority of recorded airplay or impact this year to count.

Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes