After nearly five months of whispers and rumors, our fears have been confirmed: Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival has officially announced the event will not take place in 2024, according to Festive Owl. But, please note: Okeechobee has not been canceled indefinitely. Instead, they are taking a “fallow year” and plan to restructure the festival for future festivals. Okeechobee founders, Soundlinger, insist that “We are working hard to keep OMF close to its original roots in a big way and reignite the sparks.”

Unfortunately, this isn’t the most surprising announcement. The news follows near radio silence from the Okeechobee team across all social media platforms, which have been virtually inactive since Okeechobee publicly responded to, and confirmed, the tragic passing of an attendee who drowned on the festival campground in 2023.

MP3 TAKES: Okeechobee Music Festival 2023

This tragedy raised some warranted concerns about the festival operations: Many attendees claimed there was an alarming shortage of shaded areas and medical tents, plus very little supervision surrounding the swimming area.

Combine these complaints (made very publicly on Twitter, Instagram and Reddit) with the controversial overtaking of the festival by Insomniac in 2019, which resulted in some noticeable changes to the festival’s culture and overall ground roots aesthetic, and what resulted was a PR disaster — something massive corporations like Insomniac do not take lightly.

Whatever the reason for this hiatus, Okeechobee will, hopefully, be back soon. Who knows, maybe it’ll be better than ever. Until then, keep an eye out for official updates and announcements regarding the future of the Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival, and make sure to follow MP3 MAG to stay up to date on all things festival culture.