The Sierra Nevada World Music Festival (SNWMF), scheduled for Booneville, California, this weekend, has been cancelled.

A statement from promoters cited “unforeseen circumstances and low ticket sales” as reasons.

It is the second festival with multiple reggae acts to face a setback within days.

The Reggae Jam Festival International, scheduled for June 14-15 at Reggae Park in Falmouth, Trelawny, was recently postponed with a new date set for December.

First held in 1994, the SNWMF returned in 2023 after a five-year break. Held two years following the death of founder Warren Smith, it saw fans packing its traditional home at Mendocino County Fairgrounds.

Smith’s wife, Gretchen Franz-Smith, acknowledged the success of last year in her statement.

“Last year, the SNWMF team beautifully and successfully revitalised the festival after a five-year hiatus. We have been diligently working towards presenting another magical weekend this year. This has become increasingly difficult due to an extremely sharp decrease in ticket sales the past couple weeks,” she noted, adding that her team, “will do everything possible to issue refunds”.

The SNWMF had another eclectic line-up for this year’s event. It included stalwart Jamaican acts such as The Tennors, Leroy Sibbles, Eric “Monty” Morris, and old school deejay Ranking Joe.

Beres Hammond, Barrington Levy, Half Pint, Koffee, Stonebwoy, and Blvk H3RO were also billed, as well as acts from the United States Virgin Islands, Europe, and India, along with British sound system legend David Rodigan.

Warren Smith was a pioneer of the northern California reggae scene.

A native of the region, he promoted his first reggae show at Winterland Auditorium in San Francisco in 1975 with Toots and The Maytals, Dennis Brown, and Inner Circle the featured acts.

The SNWMF, which helped expose roots artistes mainly from Jamaica, Haiti, Africa and the United States, was his biggest production.