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Saturday headliners of American Music Festival moved inside Virginia Beach Convention Center

Posted at 1:57 PM, Sep 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-02 11:27:17-04

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The organizers of the American Music Festival have decided to move Saturday's 5th Street Main Stage beach concert into the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

Headliners Rebelution and Michael Franti & Spearhead will perform. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the show will start at 7 p.m.

Building capacity is limited, so concertgoers should arrive early. They will be admitted on a first-come basis.

All other Saturday concerns along the Oceanfront will go on as scheduled, weather permitting.

Sunday's concerts are still planned to go on as scheduled.

All performances on the 5th and 17th Street stages were canceled Friday night. The decision was announced  3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon.

311, Big Something and Jesse Chong were scheduled to appear on the main stage on 5th Street, but according to organizers, strong winds and predicted rains made it unsafe for the performers to go on and for fans to attend. The same goes for the 17th Street stage where TFC Band was scheduled to perform.

Free performances by Lucky 757 and The Double Shots on the 24th Street Stage as well as the free performance by Vertical Horizon on 31st Street Stage were also canceled.

Last year, Tropical Storm Hermine caused several acts to be canceled and others to be moved in doors as well.

It took more than bad weather to keep Randy and Denise Mead from coming to the American Music Festival. For nearly 20 years the couple has been making the eight hour trek from Tennessee to the Oceanfront for Labor Day.

"This is our 18th year in a row coming out here and it's just kind of tradition for us," said Denise Meade. "We're coming unless they have an evacuation that's mandatory."

That dedication to Labor Day events is echoed with John McIntire. He was at the Virginia Beach Convention center Friday morning registering to run in his eighth Rock n' Roll Marathon Series at the Oceanfront.

"Last year there was a hurricane that came through, this year is just a little bit of rain. I think it will be fine though," said McIntire.

Though even if the rain continues to pour all weekend long, his family has a plan.

"If it rains we will go to the aquarium. There's plenty of stuff to do inside here."

Organizers of both the American Music Festival and the Rock N Roll Marathon Series say they will keep people in the loop about any changes to their scheduled through their Facebook pages.