In April, fans of the Larry Joe Taylor Music Festival, known as LJT, were heartbroken when it was announced that the event would be postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions until this Oct. Since then, some restrictions have been lifted, concerns surrounding the continued spread of COVID-19 have only continued to grow.  On Sept. 1 the Taylor family issued a news release posted on their website announcing that regrettably, the Oct. 2020 LJT at Melody Mountain Ranch had been cancelled. The announcement stated the Taylor family and crew care deeply about the safety of everyone involved with the festival, but due to COVID-19 and the anticipated crowd size, the 2020 event would not happen. LJT at Melody Mountain will be silent for the first time in 17 years. The Taylor family has been hosting the LJT Festival since the creation in 1989, although the event has not always been held at Melody Mountain Ranch in Stephenville. The Melody Mountain location has hosted country music lovers for many different music and community events as well as LJT every spring since the festival was moved to Stephenville in April of 2002. The idea for LJT started when Larry Joe Taylor and his friends were looking for a place to play their own music. Taylor wanted to play to a live audience and to create an environment for singer/songwriters and fans to come together to share their love of music. As there was no other venue at the time that offered the atmosphere and interaction with fans he wanted, he decided to hold the first Larry Joe Taylor’s Texas Music Festival in April 1989. In their update to fans, the Taylor Family and Crew wrote “when we announced our postponement back in April, we thought there would be some positive development in the months ahead and fully expected for the pandemic to be past us by October. We also were pretty confident back then that we would have some answers and reliable information that would allow us to safely move forward with such a large event for our fans, artists, sponsors and staff.” The LJT crew has been working since last April to try to find a safe way to bring the festival back this fall. “We have struggled to find ways to produce the festival while minimizing the risk to everyone who attends, but considering the known crowd size and the lack of credible data we have today about COVID-19, we are unable to provide the adequate safety and management structure of this event in October,” the Taylor family and crew said. The official 2019 attendance at the LJT festival was approximately 60,000. Campsites for the event were estimated to be 6,000 with 91% of attendees camping for two or more days of the festival. “It will not be possible to have the festival and be within the guidelines. Although there has been success with other small events in the past month,” the Taylor family and crew said. Obtaining the necessary state and local permits was not possible based on the anticipated size of the LJT event and other factors involved for this type of event, even if the tickets had been limited to advanced sales only. Announcing that the postponed festival would not be held in October as hoped may have been emotionally tough for the Taylor organization, however, it was a decision that was basically out of the hands of the LJT organizers. As of Sept. 4, 2020, protocols from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services require that local authorities consider several factors when granting permits for events larger than 10 attendees. The first consideration is the overall projected number of attendees which, in this case, would have been over 60,000. Next, is the density of the forum and the ability to ensure social distancing of six feet between individuals. If you have ever been to a LJT event or any outdoor concert, you know this would be impossible to ensure in this situation. Lastly, is the level of transmission in the county where the event will occur. The graphic from DSHS.Texas.gov updated Sept. 12, 2020 clearly indicates a significant increase in the level of transmission within Erath County. In the demographics report from LJT 2019, 30.1% of festival goers are college students (who answered the poll). Senior Environmental Engineering major Alyssa Searcy has attended every LJT since coming to Tarleton in 2016. “I can’t imagine how upset the people that are graduating and most likely will not be able to come back feel. I always look forward to hearing the live music and seeing the crazy things that people do at LJT,” Searcy said. In addition, the Sept. 9 update from Tarleton State University
reported that for the week of Aug. 30 to Sept. 5 there were 49 new cases through Tarleton. According to the CDC the Highest Risk is considered to be from large in-person gatherings where it is difficult for individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart and where attendees travel from outside the local area. Based on this CDC
guidance alone, holding LJT was not a responsible option. Providing a safe environment for festival goers has always been a top priority for the Taylor Family. With the help of Tarleton Counseling Services they created #safeLJT to help festival goers feel safe and secure while having a great time at LJT. Their response to COVID-19 has been no different. The venue plans on continuing to host smaller music and community events, striving to comply with current COVID-19 guidelines and local regulations. The Fall Fest at Melody Mountain Ranch has already sold out, but information on LJT as well other upcoming events can be found at www.larryjoetaylor.com. “I understand the festival planners wanting to keep everyone safe during this time. I know that it was a difficult decision to make, cancelling LJT.
But I do not think that people would be staying safe otherwise,” Searcy said. Looking forward, planning for the next LJT Music Festival is well underway with April 19
through 24, 2021 selected as the event dates. The artist lineup is expected to remain very similar to the lineup that was planned for the 2020 event. Touted as the “greatest outdoor music festival in Texas”, LJT plans to return safely and tickets for the April 2021 festival are available now for those who would like to attend but have not yet purchased tickets. The Taylor family ended their announcement with the following “We believe our Texas music scene is strong and unique in many ways, and we are fully committed to bringing you a fantastic LJT experience. We look forward to getting back to work, making LJT 2021 the best one yet. See you all on The Mountain in April!