The hopes of many DMB fans, (including this editor,) were dashed as The Official Dave Matthews Band website reported that the DMB festival "will not be happening."

Official Statement:

We are thrilled to announce two additional summer tour dates at one of DMB's favorite venues. Dave Matthews Band will be performing at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY on Friday, July 2 and Saturday, July 3, 2004. The Warehouse request period for these tickets is now open and will close on Monday, May 3, 2004 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Time. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale to the general public on Saturday, May 8, 2004. For more information or to join the Warehouse, click here.

We are extremely disappointed, however, to announce that the DMB festival will not be happening. We have been putting a great deal of time and effort over the past few months into trying to make the festival happen but due to logistical issues, it simply cannot happen this year. We assure you that we will continue to look for suitable opportunities and locations for DMB festivals in the future. We would especially like to thank all of the fans who responded to our surveys to help us develop this concept. We value your feedback and we will certainly keep it in mind as we plan future events.

The investigations of this site led to the belief that the festival could occur despite recent The New York Post news brief to the contrary. Obviously putting on a festival of this magnitude in such an amazing location would carry with it a logistical problem beyond simply moving concert-goers. A large scale public event has not occurred on Governors Island for 200 years.

It is worth noting that the quotes in the New York Post were posted nearly a full week before the band announced an its official cancellation. Perhaps it was planned to coincide with the final confirmation of the concerts at SPAC. It would be a threat to the trust of the DMB fan base if the events on Governors Island were cancelled and the new SPAC dates were still not confirmed.

SPAC is the good news

Along with news of the cancellation of the Governors Island Festival was news of new tour dates for July 2nd and 3rd at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. DMB first performed at SPAC in 1996. These will be the 11th and 12th DMB shows at the outdoor amphitheater.

The Warehouse has posted Lottery Ticket Series 5-2004 available for members until May 3rd at 12PM EST. They go on sale to the public on May 8th.

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