Faster Horses Festival Suspended Briefly Due To Weather Threat

Faster Horses Festival 2018 at the Michigan International Speedway has been suspended due to intense rains, organizers have announced on Friday, July 20.

The three-day event set to take place this weekend was expecting thousands of patron to watch headliners Blake Shelton and Florida Georgia Line.

Faster Horses Festival 2018 Suspended, Thousands Evacuated

Performances began at around 1 p.m. on Friday. However, a few hours later, organizers canceled the remaining performances due to the weather.

After Raelynn finished her set, the Live Nation president and promoters took the stage to urge the audience to return to the campsite until gates have been reopened. Around 40,000 people have been evacuated from the sites.

The MLive reports that Michigan was expecting severe thunderstorms in the afternoon up until the evening on Friday. Weather forecast warned of strong winds and even hail along with heavy rains. A tornado alert has also been issued.

Gates reopened around 7 p.m. and performances onstage commenced. Shelton, who was scheduled to play his headlining set on Friday night, even made a joke on Twitter.

"Hey Faster Horses Festival," he wrote. "I heard we may get some rain tonight at the show."

He referenced his recent fall at the Pendleton Whisky Music Festival in Oregon last weekend where he also performed as a headliner alongside Pitbull.

"So WHEN I fall down tonight I WILL blame it on the wet stage," he continued. "Deal?!"

This is not the first time that Faster Horses was canceled due to the severe weather condition. In 2015, about 40,000 people were also evacuated from the concert grounds.

The 2018 Vans Warped Tour has also been suffering from weather-related issues recently. At the Nashville stop of the roaming music festival, about 20 people were hospitalized due to the extream heat. Another 200 needed medical assistance at the venue.

2018 Faster Horses Festival Saturday And Sunday Lineup

The 2018 Faster Horses Festival is expected to return to normal by Saturday and Sunday. Walker Hayes, Locash, Chris Janson, Billy Currington, Brooks & Dunn, Riley Green, Delta Rae, The Wild Feathers, Cale Dodds, Songwriters Storyjam, and Charlie Worsham are scheduled to go onstage on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Ashley McBryde, Parmalee, Tyler Farr, Dustin Lynch, James Barker Band, Filmore, Brown & Gray, Nikki Lane, Brandon Lay, Jon Langston, and Florida Georgia Line will perform on Sunday.

Tags

Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line