Amid a string of problems from a last-minute venue change to scheduling conflicts, promoters for the 20th Annual Michigan Deathfest have announced this year's event will be cancelled. The event was to take place on August 20th and 21st at St. Andrew's Hall in Deetroit, Michigan. Promoters issued the following statement regarding the cancellation:


"The announcement of Michigan Deathfest officially being cancelled was a very difficult one to make. Due to many conflicts, starting with the date change, the announcement of Iron Maiden playing close to the fest on the same date, and many more, the show took many hits prior to the original venue change.

"The venue and date of the event was changed in the best interest of the bands and fans, but we continued to take hits from bands dropping off the bill for various reasons, band breakups, lineup changes, etc. etc. The final hit for the festival (which probably had the biggest effect on the cancellation) was the overall lack of pre-sale tickets sold and general lack of interest in the event.

"If fans were planning on attending the festival, we sure didn't know about it and we apologize for any inconvenience to anyone that did plan on coming, especially if you lost money in the process of planning your trip. Still having one month 'till the festival date, we tried to give everyone ample notice of the cancellation.

"St. Andrew's Hall is working with us to set up a free admission show to make up for the cancellation of the festival. It will feature many of the festival bands. As soon as a date is confirmed we will announce the show.

"Hope free works for everyone and once again we'd like to apologize for any inconvenience.

"Thank you very much for your continued support over the last 20 years!