Cancelled California Festival Says It’s Unable to Refund Buyers Amid Lack of Funds
California’s Sierra Nevada World Music Festival was abruptly called-off last month, and now, organizers said they are unable to refund ticket buyers amid a lack of funds.
The festival was originally set to run from June 20 to 23 at the Mendocino County Fairgrounds in Boonville and feature reggae artists like Koffee and Busy Signal, however, promoters shared that the Northern California event would not move forward last-minute due to “extreme financial challenges.” While organizers had not announced the status of refunds at the time, the event promoter has now confirmed that ticketholders will not be seeing a refund.
“We are truly sorry for the unavoidable cancellation and the delay in getting information to you,” promoter Gretchen Franz Smith wrote in an email to ticket holders. “Since the cancellation, we have been working diligently with See Tickets and professionals to try to find ways to lessen the painful impacts. We are devastated to inform you that SNWMF does not have sufficient funds to reimburse ticket holders.”
The email went on to note that “as is standard in the industry,” costs associated with ticket sales, artist advances, licenses, and more are non-recoupable and festival insurance does not cover the cancellation — which was due to low ticket sales.
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The promoter said that “in the spirit of unity,” SNWMF ticketholders can use their tickets for admission at Raggae on the River 2024, which will be held from August 2 to 4 at County Line Ranch in Humboldt County, for those who registered in advance. The festival, however, requires an additional $50 fee per day and does not offer the same amenities at its campsite.
One ticketholder, Scott Romer, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he spent $1,083.89 on two adult three-day passes to the festival, as well as an RV camping fee.
“The promoter literally took our money and ran,” Romer told the publication.
Others shared their grievances and frustrations on social media:
A petition was also created on Change.org, demanding refunds from the festival promoter.
“We invested our money and anticipation into the festival, only to be presented with tickets to a different event as an inadequate solution when the original festival could no longer take place,” Raymond Escamilla wrote on the petition. “However, not everyone can afford or even desire to attend this alternative. This represents a failure by festival promoters to properly account for the needs of their audience and an irresponsible use of customers’ trust and resources.”
The petition calls on the promoters to “assume accountability for misguided management of the festival and lack of communication,” calling for a complete refund, rather than accepting tickets to the other festival.
This would have marked SNWMF’s 30th anniversary; the festival was originally co-founded by Smith and her late husband Warren in 1994.
