Previously, I wrote about the disaster that unraveled at the 2023 Blue Ridge Rockfest (BRRF). Fans left because of terrible weather conditions, stolen or damaged property, and filthy conditions making Blue Ridge Rockfest a waste of money. Right after the disaster, Blue Ridge Rockfest released a video promising refunds and working on providing more details. Since then, we hadn’t heard anything, until Blue Ridge Rockfest issued a statement a few days ago.
After months of receiving complaints, inquiries, and demands for refunds, Blue Ridge Rockfest broke their silence and posted a statement on social media last Friday afternoon. They said that they aren’t able to comment on the situation due to insurance restrictions. They said that receiving coverage for such a large incident will take a long time, and that they have been silent for so long because their insurance company is restricting what they can announce until the claim is settled. According to their statement, we should be expecting a response to the claim in the first quarter of 2024.
In my previous article, I wrote about the horrific circumstances that attendees of the festival endured, but new information about exactly what went down has come out. It was recently discovered that over 200 stagehands and workers walked out just hours before the cancelation was announced due to unsanitary conditions. There were numerous sanitary and health violations leading up to the cancellation of the festival. Although we were told there would be an estimation of 45,000 people and that ticket sales were capped off at 50,000, numerous people have said they easily saw 50,000 – 60,000 people attending.
When news companies and reporters started asking the organizers for documents, they were able to get a hold of the location and site facilities, crowd control, traffic impacts, medical facilities, fire protection, food vendors, trash cleanup, and liability insurance coverage. The only document that reporters have been unable to recover is the festivals Emergency Action plan. This document is the most important one to get a hold of since it covers the festival’s evacuation plan for severe weather. When asked for this document, the organizers responded with the following statement: “The Emergency Action Plan for Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023 was unanimously approved by all applicable officials and agencies in both Virginia and North Carolina, one of the many requirements for a Festival of this size to be permitted to take place,” BRRF executive producer Cara Fischer said. “That document, however, was classified as confidential and therefore my understanding is that no one is permitted to discuss its contents.” Fischer continued.
Despite the mishaps and complaints that happen every year, and the disaster of last year’s festival, Blue Ridge Rockfest is already pre-selling tickets for the 2024 festival. Whether or not people will choose to attend, when people will get their refunds for the 2023 BRRF, and details involving the insurance claim are still unknown.