Oxford Stomp concert cancelled for second straight year

The 2021 edition of the Oxford Stomp music festival has been cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Facebook/Oxford Stomp)

Calgary — This year’s Oxford Stomp concert has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic but the charity that benefits from the annual Stampede-time event will not be left in the cold.

Instead of an in-person festival at Shaw Millennium Park, the Oxford Stomp will be making a large donation to the Calgary Military Family Resource Centre.

The organization, which supports families through the challenges of having a loved one in the military, has been the beneficiary of the Oxford Stomp since 2018.

"(The) donation will assist (the centre’s) vital work in supporting Canadian Armed Forces soldiers, many of whom have worked on the front lines throughout the pandemic," Oxford Stomp said in a release.

"We deeply admire the work of the Calgary Military Family Resource Centre and are extremely proud to be able to continue our multi-year support of this incredible organization," said David Routledge, Oxford's vice-president and head of the western Canada office. "Now more than ever, our military families need our support. Their work didn’t end during the pandemic, so it’s only right our support shouldn’t end either."

Event organizers say the cancellation of the music festival for the second consecutive year is being done for "the well-being of the community."

To keep the spirit of the festival alive, Oxford Stomp has created a Spotify playlist where listeners can hear a selection of hits from artists who have performed at the festival in previous years.

"While we are all yearning to gather once again, we feel it is the responsible decision to tuck away our boots for one more year as part of our commitment to ensuring the health and safety of our community," said Routledge.

Oxford Stomp is one of Calgary’s longest running outdoor music festivals, going strong for over 30 years. Artists who have performed in previous years include Melissa Etheridge, Bryan Adams and John Fogerty.