Maren Morris is the latest artist to postpone a major tour in the past several weeks. The star’s RSVP The Tour has been delayed until 2021, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tour will now launch April 30, 2021 in Alpharetta, Georgia and will run through Sept. 6, 2021 in Morrison, Colorado. The tour was previously scheduled to launch June 5 in Boston.

“In tears writing this but given these unprecedented circumstances I’ve decided to postpone RSVP The Tour to 2021,” Morris said in a note to fans on social media on Thursday (May 14). “Thankfully, all rescheduled dates will be in the same venues, so your tickets will be valid at the door. If you would like a refund, the ticketing company will send details via email to all buyers.

“These months have been a rolling wave of uncertainty, hope and reality. Let’s do this at the right time when we can all be together again. Safe, connected and awake to that fact that live music, as a fan or as the one on stage, is even more precious now. Thank you for understanding. Love you, – M.”

Morris shared the new tour dates for 2021 below:

According to a new study commissioned by United Talent Agency, 90% of concert-goers have actively sought to replace the live music experience while they have been under quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study, which was completed by UTA’s data and analytics team UTA IQ, in conjunction with SightX, is titled “Media and Entertainment in the Time of Coronavirus,” and surveyed 1,100 random respondents.

Of those surveyed, more than 25% said they had attended a livestreamed concert or music performance, a virtual movie night/watch party, a virtual fitness class or a virtual event/conference.
Artists’ music catalogs have also seen an uptick, as 55% of those surveyed said they are streaming catalog content from their favorite artists and 48% say they have watched footage of old performances and/or concerts.

Music fans also seem receptive to paid livestreams as 28% of the responders say they have paid to watch a livestream, while 7 out of 10 of survey responders who participated in a livestream concert while social distancing say they plan to continue doing so even after they return to live music events.

The study concluded, “Prior to COVID-19, the appetite for virtual concerts was limited. Now, optimizing the virtual experience may be critical to the future of live music. Music tech companies have quickly begun to legitimize the livestream business through ticketing and offering community-based features that hope to replicate the shared experience of attending a live event.”

The Skyline Artists Agency has acquired Strategic Touring as part of an ongoing expansion of its contemporary artist division led by Mark Lourie, who has been promoted to VP of Contemporary.

Strategic Touring founder Mike Kaiz will join Skyline as an agent, bringing with him a roster that includes Henhouse Prowlers, Upstate, Armchair Boogie, Kind Country, and Jeremy Garrett. He and Skyline Nashville agent, James Leslie, have also signed two-time Grammy nominee Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen.

Kaiz founded Chicago-based Strategic Touring in 2018 after a stint at Portland, Oregon’s Blue Sun Entertainment agency.

“Mike has excellent musical taste and the work ethic required to develop new artists, particularly in these challenging times,” said Lourie.

“I’m proud to join a team with Skyline’s passion and experience,” added Kaiz.

Kaiz joins Skyline’s emerging and contemporary artists division which includes argonaut & wasp, Darlingside, Freddy Jones Band, Gangstagrass, Mystic Bowie’s Talking Dreads, We Banjo 3, Zoe Keating and more.

“At a time when many others are retrenching, we are growing our team and doubling down on our commitment to developing and serving artists,” said Skyline Artists Agency President Bruce Houghton.

Since the first of the year, Skyline has also expanded its Arts division with the promotion of Andrea Sabata to VP of Performing Arts and addition of agent Ben Rossman, and grew its Nashville presence adding Laura Schneider as head of Artist Relations and Sean Quinn as Tour Coordinator.