The announcement represented a stunning reversal for an event that had been billed as potentially one of the largest celebrations of jazz and Black music ever staged in Southern California.

The festival was to feature more than 100 performances and events, more than 150 artists and dozens of venues stretching across Los Angeles County. John Legend, Janelle Monáe, Charlie Wilson, Raphael Saadiq, Parliament-Funkadelic featuring George Clinton, Terrace Martin, Poncho Sanchez, Big Freedia and scores of other national and local artists had been promoted as part of the lineup.