The trend of country music festivals “taking pauses” continues. Festival pauses, also known as “cancellations,” have become commonplace in the past couple of years. Festivals like the Iron Hills, Country Roads, Faster Horses, and Watershed (the Pacific Northwest’s largest country festival) have all made the tough decision to waive the white flag in the past year or so, with most citing “softer than expected demand” as the main reason for shuttering. And another just announced that it’ll be calling off its plans for 2026, and country music fans in the Sacramento, California area aren’t going to be happy. GoldenSky, which started its run in 2022 and would normally take place in October, recently took to social media to make the announcement that they will not be putting on their festival in 2026. Like many other festivals before them, they’ve decided to describe their decision as in the best interest of fans and artists: “We’ve made the decision to take one additional year to ensure that GoldenSky returns at the right time and at the level our fans, artists and partners expect. Our goal is to return in 2027, and we appreciate your continued support.” View this post on Instagram The country music festival that’s typically been held at Sacramento’s Discovery Park boasted headliners and big names like Eric Church, Tim McGraw, Lainey Wilson, Luke Bryan, and Keith Urban in its first three years. But in 2025, they decided to take a pause… and now that cancelation is extending through 2026. As you can see in the post above, GoldenSky is hoping to make a comeback in 2027 (but I wouldn’t hold my breath). The pause may come as a surprise to some, but we’re entering into a time where more and more festivals are struggling, postponing to future dates, and even closing up shop altogether. It’s truly become a crowded landscape, and despite many bigger festivals faltering, it seems like a new festival pops up every single year. There’s also the issue of cost. Festivals need to charge fans a certain amount to justify putting on the whole kit and caboodle, and that price can sometimes be too steep for even the most passionate music lovers. Tack on the fact that festivals often require fans to travel, book lodging, and pay for food and drinks… and you’ve got yourself an economic activity that not everyone can pull off during these times. But just taking a peek at the lineup for the last GoldenSky that was held, it looks like fans got their money’s worth with all of the artists that performed at the Northern California music festival in 2024. Supporting headliners Keith Urban, Thomas Rhett and Luke Bryan were the Turnpike Troubadours, Clint Black, Shane Smith & The Saints, Riley Green, Charles Wesley Godwin, Ashley McBryde, Shaboozey and Paul Cauthen, among others. That’s a little bit of everyone for everybody, as far as I can tell. To think that they rolled out a star-studded lineup like that, and then haven’t been able to put on a festival at all in 2025 and 2026, is pretty concerning. Though as I’ve touched on throughout this story, it’s becoming par for the course in the crowded country music festival landscape.The post California’s GoldenSky Country Music Festival Announces 2026 Hiatus first appeared on Whiskey Riff.