Blue Ridge Rock Festival Issues Statement About 2024 Tickets + 2023 ‘Resolution’

The Blue Ridge Rock Festival executive producer has issued a new statement about the availability of tickets for the 2024 festival and their attempts to resolve remaining issues from the 2023 festival.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Blue Ridge Rock Festival had been selling tickets for the 2024 edition of the festival. Despite the festival's website still advertising a "2024 Presale Happening Now," it appears that tickets are actually not being sold for the event.

Blue Ridge Rock Festival executive producer Cara Fischer issued a new statement to local station WDBJ7 that reads: “Tickets for 2024 are not currently on sale and have not been for several months while we work to provide a resolution to 2023 fans. The Festival follows the lead and direction of multiple distinguished insurance law firms and a public adjuster concerning public statements. As much as doing so has crippled us publicly, we have been informed that we have acted by the book in accordance with the event’s insurance policy and anticipate a positive resolution soon."

She added, "Please know that we are committed to delivering a great experience for our fans and supported in 2024 and beyond.”

What Happened at the 2023 Blue Ridge Rock Festival?

Weather Issues on the First Day

Weather caused chaos with the 2023 edition of the festival, as a severe storm on the first night lead to the cancellation of a portion of the day's events and evacuation of the festival grounds.

Improper Facilities

Attendees documented their various grievances over the experience on social media, noting the myriad of logistics issues ranging from parking and entry, lack of hydration stations and an inhibited ability to seek shelter as directed due to a shortage of shuttle buses.

Shuttle Bus Issues

Wait times for shuttle buses were reportedly up to five hours and with only two places for the crowd of 40,000 to 50,000 to seek shelter, things got a little chaotic. The laundry list of complaints also included a short supply of hydration stations, often leading to long lines to get water, and traffic jams to get into the festival, with reports of wait times up to 12 hours.

More Cancelations

After the weather issues of the first day of the festival, the final two days of the music weekend were then partially or entirely canceled as well. The festival cited the threat of continued severe weather throughout the weekend for their decision to halt the remainder of the festival.

Festival Attendees + Workers Voice Frustration Over Mounting Problems

But shortly after the cancelation, stories about the shortcomings of the festival began to surface. Social media posts from attendees noted the health and safety hazards of piled up garbage and overflowing trashcans on the festival grounds.

The lack of availability and access to bathrooms, showers and the scarcity of drinking water were a frequent complaint. Meanwhile, due to the Friday storm, the campgrounds were mostly left in ruins according to reports from attendees. Plus, the evacuation plan, sheltering options and lack of transportation and parking were all called into question.

Other attendees noted that many of the staff and security working the event quit over the course of the weekend due to the poor working conditions.

Days later, many of those involved or who attended the festival began speaking out. Two stagehands spoke with station WSLS about the conditions, calling the festival a "hot mess." The Virginia Department of Health were called to investigate and uncovered an unspecified amount of health violations. It was later revealed that some festival attendees began experiencing gastrointestinal issues that they believed came from drinking from one of the water stations.

READ MORE: Tour Manager Describes Experience at 2023 Blue Ridge Rock Festival

Attendees Still Waiting for Refunds

The festival also ran into issues providing refunds after the 2023 cancelation. By December 29 of last year, organizers issued a new statement on why there had been an elongated period of silence on the matter.

"We are extremely sorry for the delay in providing a clear resolution for 2023's partial cancellation. We know that frustrations are continuing to compound, and fans deserve more communication and information from us. It has pained us immensely that we have not been permitted to do so thus far. For the first time, we have recently been given permission to issue this more complete statement," they wrote in a post on social media.

According to their post, the festival's insurance policy prohibits them from discussing the details of what happened until their claim is settled, which they expected to happen during the first quarter of 2024 or shortly after, but so far no additional info has come from the festival organizers.

What Else Was Revealed About Blue Ridge Rock Festival?

One other revelation came from the WDBJ7 article on Blue Ridge Rock Festival, with the station revealing that one of the three active lawsuits against the festival had now been settled.

Purpose Driven Events, LLC, will now pay North Carolina rental business Sunbelt Rentals $669,092.81 for not fully paying for equipment that dates back to the 2022 edition of the festival.