It appears the festival graveyard isn’t complete just yet. Pennsylvania’s Karoondinha Festival was just cancelled with one month to go. What’s worse is that after several high profile cancellations in 2016, the cancellations happening in 2017 are much messier and much less professional. When Insomniac or ID&T cancel a festival, an announcement is made months in advance and refunds are automatic if tickets have even been sold at all. Festival cancellations in 2017 are not too far off from the experience of Fyre Festival, just look at Pemberton.
Earlier today Karoondinha’s social media profiles went blank and website went down, causing a stir with no explanation. Only hours later did Billboard report that the organizers were pulling the plug because costs spiraled out of control. The festival featured acts like Porter Robinson, Odezsa, Chance the Rapper, and John Legend. Ticket sales never met expectations and the organizers decided to cancel Tuesday.
“We’re looking at other options at this moment and hope we can make something happen in some way. We’re not walking away from the vision of the idea in any way, because our commitment is still to make something great happen in this area — it’s just not going to take place on the scheduled days”
Tickets were sold through Eventbrite and at this time refunds are “being looked at”. Talent agencies reportedly grew nervous about the festival weeks earlier when calls stopped being returned. The festival aimed for 30,000 attendees but was more suited for around 8000. The team reportedly over spent on marketing and site preparation. Hopefully refunds will go through as customers expect and we don’t have any more of these in 2017.
Source: Billboard
