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Index Fest, Deep Ellum's mini ACL, has been canceled

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a quote form Spune.

In the current climate when music festival season is a year-round affair, it's only natural that some events would become victim of a packed calendar. Locally, that victim appears to be Index Fest, the multi-day Dallas shindig that was lauded as the area's "mini ACL."

Thursday, Index Fest announced it will not take place in 2016, citing an inability to nail down dates and venues.

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"As many of you are aware, our calendar is quite busy and it makes the most sense for us to focus our attention on other endeavors," says a note on the website. "Unfortunately, canceling Index is a sacrifice it is clear we need to make."

Founded in 2012, Index Fest aimed to bring local music lovers the best indie artists with the potential to be the next big thing. That's even where the name comes from: "indie" plus "next" equals "Index."

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It was originally held in the fall, but due to an ever-increasing number of festivals, Index rescheduled the 2015 event for spring 2016. But when spring rolled around, many people were left guessing as to the festival's fate.

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Index was put on by local production/promotion company Spune, which has its hands in a myriad of local events including five Untapped festivals statewide. The website says Index Fest could return at a later date, but the company is not actively pursuing opportunities to make it happen, says Annette Marin, Spune partner.

"Our whole team, we really invested a lot in Index and believed in it," she says. "But until we can find a combination of dates and venues and partners, then we’re just going to have Index on the shelf."

In our humble opinion, Index Fest succeeded at not only bringing some of the most relevant musicians to town, but also drawing out a sizable crowd from across the Lone Star State. Its last installment welcomed more than 90 bands, including gruff country singer Ryan Bingham, alt-rockers Mutemath and whimsy pop group Local Natives, to a slew of music venues across Deep Ellum.

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Index Fest plans to refund all those who purchased tickets more than a year ago and managed to hang onto them with hope. Checks should be in the mail by April 15.

Let's remember the good times, shall we?