Is Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2024 Cancelled?
by Frederic Vervaecke
- Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2024
- The State of Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2024
- Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023
- What Happened at Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023?
- Severe Weather and Evacuation Issues
- Organizational and Logistical Problems
- Health and Safety Violations
- Stagehand Strike
- Official Statements and Refunds
- Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023 Lineup
- Ticket Prices for Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023
- Check Out Other Music Festivals, Too!
Thumbnail: Josey Scott at Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2022 by Mattzila89 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2024
The Blue Ridge Rock Festival organizers have officially announced that there will not be an event in 2024. This follows the abbreviated 2023 festival, during which only two days of performances occurred due to weather concerns and a stagehand strike.
The State of Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2024
In a recent joint statement, Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2024 organizers and representatives from Virginia International Raceway announced that this year’s festival has been canceled. The focus, the statement said, was on settling the insurance claim and “bringing resolution to those affected by the weather cancellation of Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023.” Here is their statement:
*2024 FESTIVAL STATEMENT
Blue Ridge Rock Festival and Virginia International Raceway are saddened to announce that the 2024 Festival will not take place as originally planned. Our number one focus and priority has been, and remains, settling the insurance claim and ensuring resolution for everyone affected by 2023's weather cancellation.
After thorough consideration and discussions between both parties, we have mutually agreed that hosting the festival in 2024 is not feasible at this time since we are still awaiting a resolution for 2023. As a result, all items purchased for the 2024 Festival will be fully refunded. Contrary to online reports, 2024 tickets were placed on-sale at the very start of the 2023 festival (not any time recently), just as we did in 2022. This 2024 on-sale took place well prior to the weather-induced partial cancellation of the 2023 festival.
The sales that did take place for 2024 have been held in escrow. We are working with the merchant processing company to streamline and process refunds. Please stay tuned to your email for 2024 refund information forthcoming.
We would like to express our gratitude to Virginia International Raceway for their partnership and unwavering support through this unexpected, and unequivocally challenging time. What has occurred behind the scenes over the last several months with Blue Ridge has often been incredibly unique and unprecedented for a Music Festival, but VIR has graciously understood, maintained faith, and worked through each situation with us. While Blue Ridge Rock Festival will not take place in 2024, we look forward to revealing what the future holds in 2025. We are very grateful for an incredibly passionate fan base that organically took a tiny one day Festival, in rural Virginia, to unbelievable heights, through fan engagement and innovation in its lineup, experiences, and overall curation.
Thank you to all our supporters, attendees, and partners for your understanding and infectious support of Blue Ridge Rock Festival. We look forward to soon resolving 2023 and 2024 for all.*
Now that it’s clear that this years’s edition is canceled, let’s take a look at what happened.
Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023
Although the 2024 festival is canceled, the 2023 version of the Blue Ridge Rock Festival was incredibly successful. Its excellent lineup attracted nearly 50,000 visitors.
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What Happened at Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023?
The Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023, which took place at the Virginia International Raceway from September 7 to 10, witnessed an unfortunate chain of events that resulted in the festival's cancellation in its entirety.
Severe Weather and Evacuation Issues
Severe weather was cited as the main reason for canceling the event. On September 7, a major storm called off the event that evening, uncovering significant defects in the festival's evacuation plan. Attendees had an extremely difficult time evacuating the festival; for many people, wait times for the shuttle buses were measured in hours rather than minutes, contributing to the mayhem and frustration.
Organizational and Logistical Problems
In addition to the weather-caused issues, several other organizational and logistical problems plagued the festival. Reports from festival goers and festival staff showed a number of key problems:
Garbage and Sanitation: Attendees documented heaps of garbage around overflowing trash cans, creating potential health and safety hazards. Bathrooms and showers were also problematic, with some facilities needing to be moldy and inoperable.
Staff and Security: A significant portion of the staff, including stagehands and security personnel, reportedly quit due to poor working conditions. This exacerbated the already challenging situation, leading to further disorganization and safety concerns.
Camping and Shelter: The camping areas were overcrowded and attempts to shelter attendees during the storm needed to be improved. Many campers faced difficulties finding safe and dry places to stay.
Shuttle Buses and Parking: The shuttle service, which was supposed to transport attendees between the festival grounds and parking areas, needed to be improved. Long wait times and insufficient buses left many attendees stranded and frustrated.
Health and Safety Violations
The Virginia Health Department uncovered several health violations at the festival, adding to the list of problems.
Stagehand Strike
Further adding to the chaos, there were reports of a stagehand union strike. Stagehands threatened to strike on September 9 unless their working conditions were improved. This threat, combined with the already existing logistical problems, led to the cancellation of the festival.
Official Statements and Refunds
After the festival was canceled, the organizers issued a series of statements in the days following. They maintained that their decision to cancel was entirely based on the weather as it related to safety. Many attendees were skeptical, given the lack of a reasonable explanation regarding the refund process.
The festival organizers, in their own statement, recognized the delay in providing specifics on the refund situation. They blamed the delay on ongoing communication with their insurance provider. In the statement, the festival organizers told attendees they were working toward resolution and refunds for all those due.
Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023 Lineup
The Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023 had a stellar lineup featuring over 150 artists across four days. Despite the challenges, the lineup was rock solid.
Festival headliners for 2023 were Slipknot, Pantera, Shinedown, Five Finger Death Punch, Limp Bizkit, Evanescence, and Mr. Till Lindemann (lead vocalist of Rammstein).
Additionally, the festival featured a range of well-known artists spanning all forms of rock and metal. Some notables are Lamb of God, Papa Roach, Halestorm, Megadeth, and Rise Against. Other top bands are Three Days Grace, Cypress Hill, and Pierce The Veil.
Ticket Prices for Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023
The 2023 festival offered multiple ticket options in order to accommodate different preferences and budgets, with prices as follows:
4-Day General Admission: $335
3-Day General Admission: $300
Single-Day Passes: $125 to $159
Check Out Other Music Festivals, Too!
While Blue Ridge Rock Fest is canceled this year, there are a ton of other fab festivals to attend. Read about our 2 other faves here:
Don’t forget that TicketX still has a selection of the coveted tickets on offer and an additional 10% discount on your first tickets that you buy via our platform:
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