Southside’s Atlanta Motor Speedway wants to make a pitch for Music Midtown

Caption

NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney wins a NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 21, 2021, in Hampton, Ga.

Credit: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

One of Atlanta’s most popular music festivals has been canceled and House Bill 60 otherwise known as the Safe Carry Protection Act may be to blame. 

A private venue on the southside with more than enough space for the festival, necessary  parking and room for the stages it takes to host a massive musical event wants to make a pitch for a major Atlanta festival.

Sources tell The Atlanta Voice officials at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the home of two annual NASCAR Cup Series races, AMA Monster Energy Supercross and the Georgia State Fair, among other events that cater to large crowds, are making a pitch for Music Midtown, which would at least keep the event in the state of Georgia.

Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Music Midtown, which was scheduled to take place the weekend of September 17-18 in Piedmont Park, announced via its Twitter account Monday morning that the annual festival was canceled “due to circumstances beyond our control.”

Many reports, both from local publications and national, have credited unnamed sources with blaming the cancellation on Georgia’s unrestricted gun laws. Piedmont Park is public property and thus Live Nation and any other concert, festival or event promoter is prohibited from restricting spectators from carrying guns in the state of Georgia.

That is of course unless the festival is held at a private venue. 

Speedway Motorsports LLC owns and operates the Atlanta Motor Speedway and thus can prohibit guns from being brought into the venue despite the law.

What’s in it for Live Nation

Though not exactly in Midtown, Atlanta Motor Speedway could allow for nearly 100,000 or more fans to attend a festival. The bonus of being on the I-75 corridor will most certainly be a part of any pitch to Live Nation or other concert and festival promoters.

NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway average anywhere from 70,000 to 120,000-plus spectators.  

Music Midtown was slated to have Atlanta-based artist Future, and a number of bands on stage throughout the weekend.

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with The Atlanta Voice.