Blue Ridge Rock Festival was a disaster, closing two days of its event as fans blamed overcapacity. Now, for the first time in 10 days, festival organizers have released a public statement addressing concerns.
The festival, dubbed North America’s largest rock and metal festival, was set to take place from September 7 to 10 in Alton, Virginia, however, it was cut short. Thursday’s show was impacted by severe weather, leading to an announcement for fans to seek shelter, and while Friday went on as-planned, Saturday and Sunday’s shows were called-off. Festival organizers cited weather as the cause for the cancellation, but a very different story circulated on social media.
Festivalgoers said that the real reason for the cancellation was due to overcapacity — citing lack of security, overpriced water, only two water stations on site with one behind a VIP barrier, and garbage littering the grounds. Additionally, stagehands said many people behind-the-scenes walked out due to poor working conditions.
While refunds were promised, there has been no word on when those refunds will be available.
Three days after the festival, organizers released a statement noting that “there is an overabundance of misinformation circulating that we will fully address in due time,” and “we see you, and are working as quickly as possible on our end to take care of you.”
Now, 10 days later, the festival released a more in-depth statement and addressed the rumors regarding the cancellation.
“Blue Ridge deeply regrets the unexpected turn of events that led to the festival’s cancellation,” the statement read. “The decision, although difficult, was taken in collaboration with an emergency management team, comprised of local, county, and state officials.”
Organizers went on to say that this decision was a “collective choice made in the interest of everyone’s safety,” and “contrary to some claims, the decision was based solely on safety concerns caused by weather.”
In the statement, organizers also responded to the cry for refunds, writing that they are “working around the clock for you,” and because they are “one of the few true independent entities remaining” and only hold one event a year, “the process we are currently working through does unfortunately take additional time.”
“Due to a combination of internal considerations and external factors, we are unable to offer more details at this time, but we are looking forward to doing so,” the festival said, noting that more information will be announced.
In addition to the messy timeline on refunds and no real resolution from organizers, eventgoers are also reportedly dealing with a form of widespread gastrointestinal illness, sparking an investigation by the Virginia Department of Health.
According to RollingStone, the department opened an investigation into how and why festivalgoers are dealing with illnesses weeks after the event. Those affected told 10 News that “unsanitary conditions” were at fault, relating to the portable toilets at the festival. During the event, many took to social media to share that the portable toilets were blocked-off for being “full.”
@BlueRidgeRock Is an absolute Fucking joke. 90+ degree weather, two hydration stations (Only 1 is GA, other is VIP) Price gouging – 1 bottle of water is $4. Campers waited over 12 hours just toget into the festival grounds 1/x pic.twitter.com/ZS4S8VpfEh
— Justin (@tehcubsfan) September 7, 2023
The Virginia Department of Health confirmed to 10 News that the festival allegedly “violated numerous health codes,” though they weren’t harsh enough to shut down the event. The department shared an online survey that aims to collect information from attendees — whether they became ill or not — to help “identify and evaluate between the two groups.”
The department also confirmed that they uncovered an unspecified amount of health violations, and stagehands came forward with details regarding a threat to strike on September 9 if working conditions did not improve. According to WDBJ7, stagehands demanded additional water stations, showers, food, and safer structures within the next 24 hours. They said 150 festival workers had to share six porta-potties over the course of two weeks, which were not cleaned regularly.
Nonetheless, Blue Ridge Rock is currently selling presale tickets for its 2024 festival — though after this year, it’s unclear if anyone wants to attend.
