To the surprise of no one after the disaster of 2023, the Blue Ridge Rock Festival has been officially canceled for 2024.
In an official statement, festival organizers continue to blame last year’s issues on the weather. To be fair, a torrential storm did cause a partial cancellation of the festival on its first full day, Thursday, Sept. 7. But widespread reports have pointed to a potential stagehand walkout due to poor working conditions as the real reason behind the complete cancellation of the festival on Saturday, Sept. 9, and Sunday, Sept. 10. Many other issues, ranging from hours-long waits for transportation to and from satellite parking lots and lack of trash pickup throughout the festival grounds, were reported, as well.
As has been its common practice, Blue Ridge started selling passes for 2024 on the weekend of its 2023 event. Organizers say that money has been held in escrow and full refunds are forthcoming. Meanwhile, many festival-goers continue to wait for refunds resulting from the 2023 debacle.
Surprisingly, festival organizers indicated something is in the works for 2025, though they certainly have their work cut out for them to regain the trust of fans, workers and bands.
The Blue Ridge Rock Festival has been held in rural Virginia since 2017, mostly recently at the Virginia International Raceway.
The official statement from the festival reads as follows:
“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 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.”
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