Dixie Fields renames to Tennessee Fields for 2021 and beyond

Essex festival Dixie Fields has renamed to Tennessee Fields for 2021 and beyond, with the event organisers changing name to avoid negative connotations.
For the same reasons as The Chicks’ rebrand, the festival – which debuted in 2019 – have implemented the change after realising the word ‘dixie’ could be perceived as offensive to some and following conversations with the CMA and fellow experts.
Speaking about the decision, Georgie Thorogood – Festival Director – said that they genuinely were not aware of the association with the word and that their sole aim is to provide a place where people of all walks of life can enjoy country music.

“When we decided on Dixie Fields as the name of our festival back in 2018, we did not believe that it had any negative connotations,” Thorogood said. “Once we were made aware of these links which are of course most relevant to our friends in the US, there was no question as to whether it was appropriate to continue with the name.

“We have developed a festival which welcomes guests from all walks of life and society with open arms and we want to provide a safe place for everyone to come and enjoy a weekend of country music. Anything considered materially offensive to any of our customers, past, present or future, directly opposes this ethos.

“We are not erasing our association with Dixie Fields, the current merchandise will still be available for 2021, but we are acknowledging we made a mistake and are working to rectify this going forward – it is all part of our, so far pretty eventful, festival journey and we are striving to better ourselves and become more educated at all times!”

Tennessee Fields will be aiming to go ahead as planned for 2021, with the dates 9-11 July pencilled in.