Dfest 2010 has been canceled, according to a statement released by the music festival’s co-founders.

Economic downturn and a lack of corporate sponsorship were reasons why the Tulsa-based festival was put on hiatus, Tom and Angie Green announced on the festival website May 21.

“These factors have made us unable to produce the kind of event we are known for, so we are unable to move forward with the festival this year,” Green said in the release.

The founders said they did not want to sacrifice the quality of the festival that had been brought to such a high standard in previous years.

“The integrity and quality of Dfest is of the utmost importance to us as the creators of the event,” Green said.

The festival’s financial struggles are understandable, said Quentin Bomgardner, Norman Music Festival chairman. He said NMF organizers also found a hard economy to work from this year.

The biggest difference between the two festivals is their budgets, Bomgardner said.

“Our budget is significantly smaller than theirs,” he said.

This financial discrepancy is best shown in the festivals’ headliners, Bomgardner said.

In April, Norman Music Festival’s headliner was The Dirty Projectors, a band that does not receive much radio play, while Dfest brought The Black Crowes, a mainstream band, as its top act in 2009, Bomgardner said.

NMF had around 50,000 people in attendance, he said. The free festival expanded to two days this year.

Bomgardner said NMF thrives on small sponsors and volunteers, while Dfest relies on corporate-level sponsors such as State Farm.

Norman Music Festival also receives partial funding from the hotel/motel tax fund of the City of Norman, Bomgardner said.

Dfest, short for Diversafest, began in 2002 as a showcase for local, regional and national acts. Previous headlining bands include The Flaming Lips and The Black Crowes. The two-day event drew more than 70,000 people in 2009.

Fans began to voice their suspicions earlier this month on the Dfest Facebook page, questioning the lack of information available of the festival’s website.

“From dfest.com to MySpace to Twitter to this very Facebook page, there have been no updates in weeks. Even if it’s not happening this year, you should let people know so we aren’t sitting around waiting for nothing,” one commenter wrote.

Last year, headliners were announced and tickets had been available in mid-April.

Dfest alternative:

Three Tulsa live music providers have come together to create a new music festival to be held in place of Dfest, according to an announcement from a Tulsa-based record label.

FreeTulsa! — a two-day event in the city’s downtown Brady Arts District — will feature bands from Tulsa and surrounding areas, the release stated.

The two-day music festival will be July 30 and 31, the same days Dfest was supposed to take place. Ticket information will be announced June 2.

A lineup of mostly Oklahoma bands has been posted on its website.

The event is accepting open submissions from bands online

Some Norman bands announced for the festival include Brine Webb, The Non and Jacob Abello.

For a complete list of bands, visit OUDaily.com.