click to enlarge Photo by Chad Cochran

Earlier today, the organizers of the InCuya Music Festival announced that the festival will not return in 2019. The inaugural two-day event, which took place this past summer on the downtown malls featured acts such as SZA, New Order and the Avett Brothers. Because the diverse lineup failed to draw huge crowds, the Cleveland Concert Company has said it'll put its festival “on pause” to determine “a more sustainable business model for future events.” “While the inaugural event showed a lot of potential, our team felt that the timing to proceed with the event in 2019 would be challenging. Building on what we learned, we’re open to considering potential options for the future,” says Cleveland Concert Company Board Chair Sunny Nixon in a press release.In addition to the Cleveland Concert Company, supporters of InCuya included the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Destination Cleveland and the City of Cleveland.“Planning and hosting a two-day downtown music festival of this scale is a significant undertaking, and we’re proud to have supported this group of risk takers,” says David Gilbert, president and CEO of Destination Cleveland. “And we’ll continue to support future events that help nurture our more than 68,000 travel and tourism jobs and $8.8 billion of economic impact from the tourism industry in Cuyahoga County.”Greg Harris, President and CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, remains hopeful that InCuya or some other music festival will return to downtown Cleveland.“InCuya delivered a great fan experience and exciting live music on a grand scale in downtown Cleveland,” says Greg Harris, President and CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. “With some retooling, a future festival could be a major success, and we look forward to continuing to support music initiatives that embody our mission to engage, teach and inspire through the power of rock 'n' roll.”