The next Kate Wolf Music Fest, set for 2022, will be its last

The Kate Wolf Music Festival at the Black Oak Ranch in Laytonville, last held in 2019, has been postponed until June 2022, as uncertainty about the coronavirus pandemic continues.

And next year’s event — the 25th — will be the last.

“It’s been a lot of years for us doing this, and we’re not getting any younger,” said festival founder Cloud Moss, 67, who partners with Bob Barsotti, 67, and Danny Shear, 69, on the event.

“The last two years have been tough, and no one knows what the playing field will be like or what money will be available after this,” Moss said. “The three of us just want to make sure we can end the festival our own way next year and not have it ended for us.”

The festival had been set for June 25-28, 2020, until it was postponed until June 24-27, 2021. It’s now been rescheduled for June 23-26, 2022.

Organizers cited concerns from the Mendocino County Health Department about another spike of new virus cases after the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, which may delay a decision about allowing the festival, which draws large crowds, until June.

Founded in 1996, the annual event honors the memory, music and life of Northern California folksinger and songwriter Kate Wolf, who died in 1986 at age 44 of leukemia.

Over the years, the celebration has grown to cover a wide range of music, drawing as many as 5,000 fans over four days. Past stars at the festival have included Kris Kristofferson, Los Lobos, Booker T, John Hiatt, Ani DiFranco and Indigo Girls.

Ticket holders are encouraged to hold their tickets over from last year’s planned event. All 2020 and 2021 tickets will be honored for 2022.

Refunds will be provided on request until Jan. 1, 2022. Acts slated for the festival will be announced in early December.

To obtain a refund, send an email to ticketinfo@katewolfmusicfestival.com and state the name that the tickets were purchased under and the ticket order confirmation number, or a photocopy of the tickets. Allow for up to a week for the request to be credited back to the credit card used to make the purchase.

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5243. On Twitter @danarts.