CINCINNATI — Organizers are revealing for the first time why some of the biggest ticketed events were abruptly pulled from America's River Roots Festival in Cincinnati.
The five-day event runs from Wednesday to Sunday, kicking off America’s 250th celebration on the Cincinnati and Newport riverfronts. Featuring nine riverboats from seven of America's historic river cities, it will be the largest collection of riverboats in the country.
Guests can also enjoy music at four free stages, dozens of food trucks and restaurant booths, bourbon and beer tastings and cultural activities.
Though the festival is free to attend, you can pay for upgraded experiences. Last month, it was announced that all ticketed headliner concerts were canceled. National acts Weezer, Mt. Joy, Maren Morris, Janelle Monae and several other bands were set to perform.
Organizers cited the "changing entertainment landscape" at the time.
Now, late-night river cruises have also been removed from the itinerary. The reason for all the cancellations comes down to one issue: poor ticket sales.
Rick Greiwe, co-chair of the cultural extravaganza, said headliner concerts typically sell out at least one-third of tickets in the first week.
"We weren't getting that kind of traction," Greiwe said.
Ticket buyers have already been refunded for the canceled headliner concerts, Greiwe said.
WATCH: We ask organizers what led to abrupt cancellations
The festival also consolidated late-night river cruises due to low projected attendance. Greiwe said some cruises had as few as two people booked, while others had only five, prompting organizers to cancel 12 of the latest departure times.
"They weren't selling," Greiwe said.
Viewers wrote in telling us that though their originally booked cruises were canceled, organizers did reschedule their bookings for different boats at different times.
Walk-up tickets will be available during the event for remaining ticketed activities.
Despite the setbacks, the festival is moving forward with its core mission of celebrating American river culture. Nine riverboats from seven American cities will paddle down the Ohio River, offering 160 cruises throughout the event.
"Our music, our culture and our cuisine," Greiwe said. "America's River Roots is really a celebration of this part of America. We sometimes get thrown over for the Rockies or the Great Lakes, or the Cascades. No one really understands the real impact the rivers have made on American history."
Organizers kicked off celebrations Monday by dedicating a new permanent attraction called "The Riverwalk." The walking route features 44 stops along the Cincinnati, Covington and Newport riverfronts, all guided by new signage and an app called "Riverwalk Cincinnati", highlighting the stories that shaped our region.
The app includes trivia, virtual tours and treasure hunts, and will remain available after the festival ends. The new signs marking the route are also permanent additions, funded by a legacy donation from Cincinnati Parks.
"We have so many stories to tell," Holly Brians Ragusa said. "The Riverwalk Cincy app is, at its heart, a history tour, built to engage a new and growing audience in a digital age as they approach this outdoor waterfront region.
Brians Regusa serves on the festival's creative team and authored the app. There are more than 100 points of interest along the more than 4-mile loop.
"In this app, we will learn about Little Turtle, who fought for this land and his people body and soul, John A. Roebling, the engineer who built this marvel of a bridge, well before he designed the Brooklyn Bridge, Daniel Carter Beard, Simon Kenton and Mary Green, the first female steamboat captain," Brians Ragusa said. "It's reaching a region and it's speaking to not just the locals here but anyone who sets foot here."
