B.C. Pemberton Music Festival cancelled for 2009

Today is indeed the day the music died for the Pemberton Music Festival.

The second annual event, slated for July 2009, has been cancelled.

Concert promoters Live Nation say the organization process for the upcoming event is too far behind because of a lengthy dispute over land with the B.C. Agricultural Land Commission.

"We will not produce the festival this summer due to the fact that the necessary permits were approved too late in the year to effectively book talent," a spokesperson wrote in a statement to CTV.

Live Nation secured a one-year permit with the ALC at the end of November, but organizers were always concerned about producing a show so large in such a short amount of time.

Live Nation's president of touring and business development, Shane Bourbonnais, told a Whistler newspaper that even with the approval, putting it together in time for summer 2009 was going to be challenging.

It took more than two months for organizers to secure the land permit to use the Mount Currie after the company applied in September.

More than 40,000 people each day descended on the tiny mountain town of Pemberton, B.C. last summer to attend the four day festival, featuring acts such as rapper Jay-Z and British supergroup Coldplay.

The festival injected more than $10 million into Pemberton's local economy, and an estimated $35 million into the province.

But the popular event did not come without problems. Complaints about security and transportation at the venue, as well as garbage removal issues, began before the festival even ended.

Pemberton mayor Jordan Sturdy said he thinks the community will be disappointed, but understanding of the situation.

"We want to have this event, but we also want it to be a great event," Study told CTV News.

"We don't want to cobble together something just for the sake of doing something. We need the right lineup and that takes time."

Sturdy stresses that the Pemberton Festival is intended to be a long running tradition, and that the town will work with Live Nation to make the next festival "better than ever."

A spokesperson for Live Nation says the company is "moving forward and focusing" on hosting another show in 2010.