‘So angry’: Woman reveals red flags before Pitch Music & Arts Festival was cancelled

A festivalgoer has expressed her outrage over the “little” communication patrons received at Victoria’s cancelled music festival.

A festivalgoer has alleged a popular music festival in Victoria was plagued by “red flags” before it was cancelled amid an extreme heatwave.

The Pitch Music and Arts Festival held in Moyston, about 220km west of Melbourne, was cancelled on Sunday after the Country Fire Authority (CFA) upgraded its fire danger warning to “extreme” for Monday.

“We encourage everyone on site not to rush, calmly pack up and depart either this (Sunday) or early (Monday),” a Pitch statement, released on Instagram, read.

The decision came after the festival faced scrutiny over mixed messaging about whether the four-day event was going ahead, despite warnings from authorities about the extreme heat and fire danger.

A 23-year-old man also died of a suspected drug overdose after he was found unresponsive at the festival.

The Pitch Music & Arts Festival was cancelled on Sunday amid an extreme heatwave. Picture: Instagram.

Speaking to news.com.au, a 22-year-old festivalgoer, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed the event was riddled with issues, and claimed patrons received limited updates about the unfolding situation.

“I’m so angry, as there was little to no communication,” she told news.com.au.

“Nothing was communicated properly on the inside.”

The woman said she was initially worried about the hot weather forecast in the lead-up to the festival, but she thought “Pitch had it all covered”.

“They stated they ‘had a plan’ but it seemed so disorganised that it was difficult to trust it.”

When the first night of the festival wrapped up at around midnight on Friday, she claimed patrons were warned about an impending “fire danger” and advised it was safest to leave that night or the following morning.

However the warning reportedly came via a single sign placed outside the festival entrance.

“Extreme Fire Danger Day – Saturday 9th of March. CFA recommends the safest option is to leave the site tonight or early tomorrow morning,” the sign read.

“Those who wish to stay please ensure you are prepared for a severe heatwave over the entirety of the weekend.”

A bus load of festival goers on a bus to the Pitch Music and Arts festival in Moyston. Picture: Instagram

“That was the only warning we received, they had no microphones or megaphones,” the woman said.

At 12am on Saturday, the festival posted a weather update on Instagram, advising ticket holders the Bureau of Meteorology had forecast an Extreme Fire Danger Rating for Saturday, and passed on the recommendation to leave the site.

However, the 22-year-old said those inside the festival “had no idea” announcements were being shared on social media.

“It makes no sense as no one had access to reception in the first place, so how do they expect people to see that?” she said.

“I had some friends in there after it got announced that it was cancelled at 3pm (on Sunday). They still weren’t aware until 6pm as I’m assuming they heard from another attendee.”

The Pitch Music Festival urged ticket holders on Friday night not to go to the festival due to Victoria's heat and fire risk in a post on social media. Picture: Supplied

The 22-year-old said there were other red flags during the festival, claiming there was a “shortage of water and ice” and security guards failed to search her vehicle when she first entered the event.

“It just felt like nothing was organised and volunteers were acting busy,” she explained.

“Our entire lane (of cars) didn’t get searched (by security) which just rang alarm bells in my head, as people could’ve easily brought in flammable items.”

She also claimed an afternoon music set scheduled for 3-4pm was delayed until 6pm.

“I felt annoyed as we had already paid money to see these artists and were given no communication. These announcements only spreadvia word of mouth so a lot of the time we were just sitting at our campsites waiting for an answer.”

The 22-year-old eventually decided to leave the festival early on Saturday after reading the warning sign on Friday night.

“I was already feeling very unwell and was concerned about the winds worsening over the weekend (which meant the dust would’ve also been worse). My friend (also) wanted to leave as she connected to the free Wi-Fi and had her dad desperately trying to call her. He was listening in to the CFA radio and there were multiple fires not too far from pitch and roads were starting to close around Ararat.”

The woman said won’t be attending another Pitch festival ever again and wants her tickets fully refunded.

However when her friend tried to apply for a refund via ticket website Megatix, she was told Pitch would need to approve the refund and was believed to be looking into the matter.

Pitch earlier said it appreciated patrons’ “patience” as it worked through refund inquiries, when it announced the cancellation of the concert on Sunday.

“Ticket holders will receive an update as more information becomes available,” it wrote in the post on Facebook.

“Our top priority right now is to get everyone on site home safely. We appreciate your understanding and co-operation during this time.”

News.com.au has contacted festival organisers Untitled Group for comment.

Originally published as ‘So angry’: Woman reveals red flags before Pitch Music & Arts Festival was cancelled