Blue Ridge Rock Festival to Return Despite Horrendous Showing Last Year

Organizers of the Blue Ridge Rock Festival are hoping everyone’s either got the memory of a gnat or are super forgiving, because despite how shit went down last year, they’re bringing it back for another round.

There’s no information at the moment as to who would be willing to perform at this year’s festival, but that’s not stopping them from selling early bird tickets ranging from $175 for a three-day general admission ticket to $1,950 for the four-day “rockstar” package.

For those that don’t remember why this is a big deal, it’s because last year’s festival fell apart half way through the proceedings. At the time, organizers cancelled the last two days of the festival and blamed it on extreme weather conditions. And while there certainly was bad weather in the area, bands and attendees quickly shared what they saw and experienced that they say helped further bring the festival down.

In one instance, it was reported at the time that stage hands were planning on striking en masse because of poor working conditions. Reports indicated that workers laid out their demands from ownership, warning that they’d need things to improve or they would walk off the job.

As for the concertgoers, they shared horror stories of experiencing gastrointestinal issues that were so severe that the Virginia Department of Health opened an investigation into the matter. Due to a lack of appropriate staff levels and transportation to and from the festival grounds, attendees were also left stranded out in the open while storms ran through. Fans regularly shared images of garbage strewn all over the place and just general poor conditions all around. In the wake of those issues, many fans have still yet to receive their refunds.

So who knows if this year’s event will be better than the last. For the organizers’ sake, I hope it is.