Speaking with Roanoke, Virginia’s WDBJ, an attorney for Blue Ridge Rock Festival confirms that pre-sale tickets for 2024 were indeed sold. The update also reveals the status on insurance claims regarding the disastrous 2023 festival cancelation as well as where the money from this year’s pre-sale might currently be.
The fest has claimed that last year’s event — which was plagued with a multitude of well-documented issues appearing to threaten the health and safety of those onsite — was nixed early due to circumstances strictly surrounding inclement whether.
Despite testimony about many non-weather issues from crew members hired to work the fest, people working for bands who played last year and fans who attended, Blue Ridge solely blames weather for the cancelation.
Toward the bottom of the page, all past reporting of these issues and official statements can be seen in detail.
Update on Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023 Insurance Claims
Because Blue Ridge Rock Fest has assigned blame on weather, it could potentially alleviate organizers of having to issue refunds to those who attended the 2023 event.
As a result, fans have been left hanging in the balance concerning those potential refunds, which appear to hinge on the results of an ongoing investigation by Blue Ridge Rock Festival’s insurance carrier. Attorney Jonathan Wilkofsky tells WDBJ that the investigators have reviewed about 24 hours of testimony and are expected to make a decision within the next 30 days.
“There were just a lot of moving parts to the events and the cancelation of the weather and the ticketing, and there’s just a million moving parts to it,” Wilkofsky says of the long process of seeking a resolution through insurance.
The attorney continues, “[The cancelation] absolutely seems to apply under these circumstances, but they [the insurance carriers] are entitled to look at every aspect of the concert to see if that’s true.”
“There’s been a lot of rumors out there that somebody’s run away with the money and we’re stiffing the fans,” he adds, “and that’s absolutely untrue. There’s been no payment. There’s been no denial of the claim, we’re in the process of the investigation.”
Blue Ridge Rock Festival
Comments Confirm 2024 Tickets Have Been Sold
Many were surprised to learn that as of mid-March, Blue Ridge Rock Festival’s website was actively promoting pre-sale tickets for a 2024 event that had no confirmed details. A WDBJ video news report on March 13 even highlighted a ticket page with active links.
Festival executive producer Cara Fischer shared a statement to the Virginia news outlet that said 2024 tickets “are not currently on sale and have not been for several months while we work to provide a resolution to 2023 fans.” Fischer concluded the statement by looking ahead to “delivering a great experience for our fans” in 2024 and beyond.
Commenting on pre-purchased tickets for 2024 Wilkofsky confirms that tickets were indeed sold in advance. He tells WDBJ, “That money has not been lost; it’s being held, which Blue Ridge doesn’t have it.”
Unsure of exactly who has that ticket money from pre-sales, the attorney states, “I don’t know if it’s the credit card company or the ticketing, but it’s being held by somebody [that’s] not Blue Ridge.”
Looking ahead, he goes on, “The hope is we’ll be putting on a show and that money will be providing for tickets, but it’s not like Blue Ridge is having the money [or] spending the money.”
Previous Coverage of 2023 + 2024 Blue Ridge Rock Festivals
Below, links have been provided to Loudwire’s previous coverage of the disastrous 2023 installment of the Blue Ridge Rock Festival.
- Stagehands Speak About Blue Ridge Rock Festival Conditions – ‘They Had a Hot Mess on Their Hands’
- Two stagehands speak with local news about their experience working at Blue Ridge Rock Festival, alleging the shower facilities were moldy and often inoperable while addressing other issues.
- Blue Ridge Rock Festival Issues Major Statement (September 22, 2023)
- After 10 days of silence that followed a message three days removed from the cancelation, the festival issued a lengthy statement, offering little new information.
- Blue Ridge Rock Fest Investigated by Health Department Over Illness Outbreak
- Attendees claim to have suffered from health issues after drinking from water stations at the festival. As a result, the Virginia Department of Health launched an investigation. Despite 41 percent of 3,000 survey respondents reporting being sick with “nausea, vomiting and diarrhea” after the fest, VDH had not confirmed reported cases of the parasite giardia via lab results.
- Blue Ridge Rock Festival Explains Silence on 2023 Partial Cancelation in New Statement
- In late December, Blue Ridge Rock fest issues an update in a new statement. While again lamenting the 2023 experience fans endured, they reiterated they were unable to comment on the matters, but had now given permission. However, there was little new and important information for fans to work with.
- Blue Ridge Rock Festival Selling 2024 Tickets, Questions Remain From 2023 Disaster
- A pre-sale page live on Blue Ridge Rock Festival’s website showed 2024 tickets were available. No bands had been booked and no location was confirmed. A range of ticketing package options were shown to be available.
- Blue Ridge Rock Festival Issues Statement About 2024 Tickets + 2023 ‘Resolution’
- The fest then issued a statement claiming “tickets for 2024 are not currently on sale and have not been for several months while we work to provide a solution for fans.
15 Most Disastrous Music Festivals in History
Here are some of the most disastrous music festivals in history, many of which proved unacceptably arduous for attendees, but a handful of others that unfortunately turned tragic. You might remember many of these instances — others you may not know about yet. Keep reading to find out.
Gallery Credit: Philip Trapp