‘No refunds’: Fury over ‘botched’ Pandemonium Rocks music festival
A major Australian music festival set to kick off next week has announced a huge change that has left ticket holders furious.
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A highly-anticipated Australian music festival next week has announced a huge change that has enraged ticket holders.
New rock music festival Pandemonium Rocks has officially announced that six major acts – including two headliners — will no longer be playing at the event.
Over the weekend it was confirmed that international headliners Placebo and Deep Purple would no longer be performing, but Blondie and Alice Cooper remain on the list.
Punk icons Dead Kennedys and Gang Of Four have also dropped out, as well as Perth group Gyroscope and Thai up-and-coming band Petch.
Despite the six bands that have been slashed, seven acts still remain.
UK group The Psychedelic Furs will still play, as well as nostalgic ‘teenage dirtbags’ Wheatus and Australian rockers Wolfmother.
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Cosmic Psychos and Palaye Royale are also still scheduled to play at this point in time.
The news comes following weeks of speculation about whether the event was going to go ahead at all, following several news reports that claimed it had been cancelled.
Event organisers responded to these reports two weeks ago, announcing that they would be forced to shrink their offering from two stages to one.
However, at the time they did not confirm which artists would play the smaller event. This left fans anxious their favourite acts may not make the cut.
Many ticket holders have now been left furious over the changes, taking to social media to vent their frustrations.
“Not good enough. I was wanting to see Placebo, Deep Purple and Dead Kennedys. So get f**ked if you think I don’t deserve a refund,” one angry customer wrote.
“This has all been grossly mishandled, I want a refund for such a botched event,” another said.
“I’m fuming. I would never have bought tickets for this line up,” one added.
“I want to see the acts I paid for.”
“This festival has fallen to pieces,” another wrote.
“It is so sad to see what is happening to events in Australia.”
No refunds
While full refunds will not be offered, organisers confirmed to news.com.au that attendees can choose one of three options: a complimentary GA ticket for a friend, a partial refund of $70, or an “exclusive” Pandemonium hoodie.
Those who do not make a choice by April 12 will automatically receive one complimentary GA ticket to give to another person.
“It will be Pandemonium this April! Recently pandemonium, it seems, has ensued,” an update from the festival organisers read.
“Pandemonium Rocks Australia this April for the first time! We have been hard at work ensuring we deliver events that provide fans with the best possible experience and we extend our thanks to those who have patiently waited for our good news.
“Four festival dates with a couple of location tweaks and a formatting alteration, and one killer Newcastle sideshow will proceed later this month!
“We acknowledge the current state of the Australian economy and the cost of living crisis, of which we’re constantly reminded of by the media. This cost of living crisis has impacted the live music touring industry significantly and forced many other festivals and tours sadly, to cancel.
“Pandemonium is not one of those and despite aforementioned national issues our festival is moving forward.
“With slightly altered programming Pandemonium is still headline iconic act heavy! Fans will rock out at our festival events to: Alice Cooper, Blondie, Psychedelic Furs, Wheatus, Wolfmother, Palaye Royale and Cosmic Psychos.
“They’re all ready to rock and take the Pandemonium stage. That’s right, stage, not stages.
Pandemonium is now a one stage festival.”
In a statement provided to news.com.au, CEO of Apex Entertainment Andrew McManus confirmed the three options provided to current ticket holders.
“With an industry on its knees, it’s now more important than ever to keep the wheels turning,” Mr McManus stated.
“There are hundreds of people in the industry, including venue operators, roadies and hotel staff, relying on the success of this tour. To continue to bring Pandemonium to Australia, we have dropped the price of tickets and offered three options for existing GA ticket holders to benefit from these changes.
“They are either one complimentary ticket per full-price ticket purchased, or a partial refund of $70, which is the difference between the initial price and the new price, or a Pandemonium hoodie valued at $100.”
‘Serious challenges’
The two remaining headline acts, Alice Cooper and Blondie, released a statement on social media confirming they would still be playing at the event.
“Despite the recent press reports that the Pandemonium Festival would be cancelled, we — Alice Cooper and Blondie — have worked closely together over the past several weeks to make it happen, despite serious challenges that threatened the festival tour,” their statement read.
Last week, some bands, including two headliners, confirmed their removal from the event.
British bands Placebo and Deep Purple quietly removed the dates from their websites, while others – including US punk rock band Dead Kennedys – explicitly told fans they were no longer performing
“We regret to inform everyone that Dead Kennedys will not be performing at the Pandemonium Festival shows in Australia later this month as the shows have been reduced to one stage and Dead Kennedys will not be included in the line-up,” the band wrote on social media on Friday.
GA admission prices have now been reduced to $190 down from $285, while a VIP ticket will set you back $650, down from around the $830 mark.
There have also been a few changes to the location of the events.
The Gold Coast show will now take place at the Broadwater Parklands rather than its original venue, Doug Jennings Park. The event scheduled for Sandstone Point Hotel near Bribie Island will now happen at Eatons Hill Hotel in Brisbane’s northern suburbs.
The two festival sideshows scheduled to happen in Newcastle have been combined into one, co-headlined by Blondie and Alice Cooper.
The news comes as many festivals have been cancelled in recent months, with major Aussie event Splendour in the Grass falling victim to this devastation last month.
Promoters released a statement confirming the news online, citing “unexpected events” and adding that they would be “taking the year off”.
The once hugely popular festival has joined the growing list of events to be canned or indefinitely postponed in recent times, including Groovin The Moo, Falls Festival, Dark Mofo, Coastal Jam, Goomfest and ValleyWays, to name a few.
Dates for Pandemonium Festival:
Saturday 20 April – Caribbean Gardens, Melbourne
Thursday 25 April – Cathy Freeman Park, Sydney
Saturday 27 April – Broadwater Parklands, Gold Coast
Sunday 28 April – Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane (Blondie not appearing)
Originally published as ‘No refunds’: Fury over ‘botched’ Pandemonium Rocks music festival
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