Pandemonium Rocks festival loses another act

Another major act has dropped out of a troubled national music festival due to hit Queensland next week.

Another major act has dropped out of a troubled national music festival due to hit Queensland next week.

The Pandemonium Rocks festival has been plagued by problems including the withdrawal of international acts Placebo, Deep Purple and the Dead Kennedys, late venue changes and a downgrade to a single-stage event.

Amid concerns the festival could be canned, rock stars Alice Cooper and Blondie took to social media earlier this month to reassure fans it was still going ahead “despite serious challenges”.

It has now been revealed that another overseas band, Las Vegas outfit Palaye Royale, have pulled out.

“It is with heavy hearts that we are cancelling our performance at the upcoming Pandemonium festival,” the band announced on Thursday.

“We have encountered a family emergency that requires our immediate attention and presence. In light of this, we extend our sincerest apologies to all those who were anticipating our performance.

“We are grateful for the understanding and support of our fans, as well as the organisers of Pandemonium Festival, during this challenging time.”

Rocker Alice Cooper has said he will play on the Gold Coast.

Debbie Harry. Picture: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)

Pandemonium Rocks organisers Apex Entertainment, headed by Gold Coast promoter Andrew McManus, said a local act to be announced on Friday would now open the show.

The festival’s Queensland concerts have been hit by late venue changes, with a scheduled Bribie Island concert on April 28 moved to Eatons Hills in Brisbane and the Gold Coast event on April 27 shifted from the Southport Spit to the Broadwater Parklands.

Blondie will not play the Brisbane show.

Two planned Pandemonium concerts in Newcastle have been reduced to one.

Many ticket-holders have taken to social media in recent weeks to express concerns, with some saying they feared losing hundreds of dollars spent on tickets, airfares and accommodation.

An online petition was also launched demanding refunds and compensation.

Fans also vented in response to the Palaye Royale withdrawal.

“Pandemonium Rocks, you need to get some extra bands on the lineup and soon,” one commented on the festival’s Facebook page.

“There must be decent bands that can fill the enormous gaps this concert/s is presenting.”

Tickets to the festival are priced from $260 to $830.

Major festivals including Splendour in the Grass and Groovin The Moo have been cancelled in recent months after poor ticket sales amid the cost of living crisis.

Earlier this month rock star Alice Cooper moved to dispel mounting concerns over the fate of the festival, also revealing big line-up and venue changes.

British band Placebo were to be on the Pandemonium line-up. Picture: GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP

Festival organisers last month rejected a report that the event had been cancelled but revealed they were downsizing to a one-stage concert.

This prompted another headline act, the Dead Kennedys, to announce that they “will not be included in the line-up”.

Apex Entertainment insisted last month that the festival was still going ahead as planned and “a revised line-up will be announced after Easter”.

“For the sake of transparency, we are still waiting on responses from festival stakeholders across multiple time zones, which has a run on effect on ticketing, promotion, artwork, etc,” Apex said in a statement last month.

“We appreciate this may not be the update you were hoping for, but in order to avoid further confusion, we will share confirmed details as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.”

Cooper took to Instagram to declare that “the Pandemonium Tour is on!”

“Despite the recent press reports that the Pandemonium Festival would be cancelled, we - Alice Cooper and Blondie - have worked closely together over the last several weeks to make it happen, despite serious challenges that threatened the festival tour,” he wrote.

“We are excited to be coming to Australia 20th-28th April for Pandemonium, although there have had to be some changes.”

Cooper said the tour would now feature himself, Blondie, The Psychadelic Furs, Wheatus, Wolfmother, Palaye Royale (now cancelled) and Cosmic Pyschos “all on one big stage in Melbourne, Sydney and Gold Coast”.

He said the Gold Coast show would move to “a better site” at the Broadwater Parklands, while the Bribie Island gig was being be shifted to Eatons Hill in Brisbane, but Blondie would not be performing there.

It comes after Byron Bay’s annual Splendour in the Grass festival, which was to have starred Kylie Minogue and Canadian rockers Arcade Fire, was cancelled this month due to “unexpected events”, after a reported 30 per cent slump in ticket sales last year.

The Triple J-backed Groovin the Moo festival has also been scrapped, along wit The Falls festival at Byron Bay last December.