The 2021 edition of the Inkcarceration Festival, the annual Ohio rock and metal festival in a former prison that mixes the art of tattooing with its music, shared an update on Wednesday (Aug. 11) that admitted it's unsure if this year's Inkcarceration will happen at all.

All attendees will be required to show proof of complete COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID test result. It's a condition many events and businesses have taken up now that the coronavirus pandemic has again swelled in the United States due to more contagious variants such as Delta, the predominant COVID strain currently plaguing the country. Just this week, other upcoming music festivals such as Bonnaroo and Milwaukee's Summerfest have similarly announced vaccination or test requirements.

Inkcarceration's producer, Danny Wimmer Presents, outlined the change in a social media post. The same message was spread across the online outposts for the other events it produces.

"We are at an unprecedented crossroads with uncertainty about whether or not our festivals will happen this fall," Wimmer himself said. "It is not my nature to idly sit back and let others decide our fate. Instead, I am going to do everything in my power to ensure that our festivals happen, even if that means enacting policies that some people may not agree with."

He continued, "But before you react negatively to our policy, please consider this. What I see is that the fans feel the world needs music festivals now more than ever. We need to bring people back together to heal from the past 18 months. We need to get the people and artists whose livelihoods depend on live events back to work. I am confident that these requirements are what is needed to guarantee that we have fun and safe festivals this fall."

Inkcarceration 2021, set for Sept. 10-12 at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, is sold out. Slipknot, Mudvayne and Rob Zombie are the scheduled headliners. Last year's Inkcarceration was canceled because of the pandemic. Currently, 50 percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated.

2021 U.S. Rock + Metal Festivals

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