Chaffee County Response to Seven Peaks Cancellation

Chaffee County government received information mid-afternoon on Friday, July 9, that the 2021 Seven Peaks Music Festival, currently pending special event permit application review from the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), has communicated publicly that it is cancelling event-related plans and is intending to refund the passes already sold.

The County received the information through social media platforms associated with Seven Peaks Festival and its planned event headliner, Dierks Bentley, which cited Chaffee County’s current event capacity restrictions as the reason for its decision. These same platforms began promoting the 2021 Seven Peaks Festival event in early June and opened ticket sales on June 14, though the special event permit application was not yet reviewed by Chaffee County BOCC at that time. 

Chaffee County has not received direct communication from the current event applicant, Tenderfoot Transmitting, Inc. (KHEN 106.9 – Salida Community Radio), or from the Seven Peaks event promoter, Live Nation, or from the proposed venue, The Meadows, LLC, regarding the status of the Seven Peaks event planning or confirming the news of its cancellation. 

Live Nation submitted an amended Seven Peaks Special Event application to Chaffee County on Tuesday, July 7, 2021, which incorporated Tenderfoot Transmitting, Inc. as the event sponsor and reduced the proposed event size to 17,000 spectators, 500 staff, and 200 participants. The Chaffee County BOCC has not officially reviewed nor denied the pending 2021 Seven Peaks application for the event proposed for September 3-5 at The Meadows in Buena Vista. It is scheduled for review at a public hearing with the BOCC on Wednesday, July 14 at 9:00a.m., unless withdrawn prior to that time.

The Chaffee County Board of Health maintained the maximum outdoor event capacity limit at 5,000 participants, as reflected in the most recent Public Health Order, #2020-08 – Amendment 23, adopted Thursday, July 8. The unanimous Board of Health decision made at its July 7 meeting is not specific to Seven Peaks Festival nor in consideration of any individual special event. Chaffee County’s Public Health Order, including local event limit parameters, will be reviewed again at the next Board of Health meeting planned for early August. 

Dan R