‘Our Willy Wonka experience’: Attendees left fuming after ’bizarre’ Swift concert

Tickets for the “bizarre” concert where performers read lyrics from the ground cost up to $150 with many attendees leaving early.

EXCLUSIVE

Attendees of a Taylor Swift tribute night are demanding refunds after a “bizarre” concert where performers appeared to read lyrics from the floor had some guests questioning whether the event was Australia’s very own Willy Wonka experience.

The tribute night was part of Manly’s Night At The Barracks concert series with tickets ranging from $80-$150 and was organised by activist Clementine Ford.

The night featured artists Alex the Astronaut, Charley, Clare Bowditch and Lucy Durack. The line-up was also supposed to include Emily Wurramara, but the singer dropped out the last minute.

Since the concert on Sunday night, attendees have flooded to the organiser’s Facebook, Instagram and Google pages as well as local community pages to express their disappointment with the event.

Concertgoers said some of the performers read lyrics from the ground and made the crowd sing the songs at one point as the lyrics were “too hard”.

The performers read lyrics off the ground. Picture: Instagram

The group sung the tunes with little co-ordination between them. Picture: Instagram

Ms Ford performed a number of the songs herself and also gave “speeches” throughout the concert.

Savannah Brown, 25, said she went with a group of her friends as she thought the event was for “millennials”.

However, they were left stunned when they arrived to a sea of young children.

An advertisement for the concert recommended ages 13+ and said the show would contain “adult themes, humour and some swearing”.

“It was so weird. At the start, Clementine got up and said she basically organised it because she didn’t get Taylor Swift tickets,” Ms Brown said.

“She’d sing a (Taylor Swift) song about heartbreak and then be like, don’t let people hurt you kids! It was so bizarre, you’re not Taylor Swift.”

Clementine Ford performed a number of the songs. Picture: Instagram

The concert was also half empty. Picture: Supplied

Ms Brown said the group performing chose to sing lesser-known songs from her early albums, which led to moments of silence from the crowd.

“Some of the kids weren’t even alive when she wrote those songs. The organisation was all just so strange. I just don’t really know what went wrong,” she said.

“On the bus home, my friend turned to me and said is this our Willy Wonka experience?”

Willy’s Chocolate Experience was an unlicensed event in Scotland which went viral earlier this year for its drab setting and sad performers.

Mum Anna Green took her daughter to the show at $130 a ticket.

She has now lodged a formal complaint to the Barracks.

The night was described by concertgoers as a karaoke night. Picture: Supplied

Many attendees left before the concert was finished. Picture: Supplied

“For $130 I’m expecting a polished performance, but it looks like they put it together in about three days.

“The main performer didn’t know the words and she looked very uncomfortable. It was basically karaoke.”

Ms Green left early and said she felt they were “monopolising” Swift’s success.

“There was just no effort. It was just shocking, we left in disbelief,” she said.

Ms Green said Ms Ford also swore throughout the concert and eventually apologise for doing so at the end.

“It was terrible,” she said.

Another concertgoer, who did not wish to be named, said at one point one of the performers said the lyrics were “too hard” and made the crowd sing them instead.

The poster for the Taylor Swift concert. Picture: Supplied

“I’m going to ask for a refund through Ticketmaster,” she said.

Another concertgoer Aoife O’Connell took to social media.

“My seven year old’s core memory is Clementine Ford swearing while she was speaking to the crowd, not ideal,” she said.

“From an entertainment perspective, the people singing were not worth that exchange for $130 a ticket - super disappointing show. Did something happen in the background?”

The Night at the Barracks and Clementine Ford have been contacted for comment.

Earlier this week, Bridgerton fans were left fuming after a “scam” event in Detroit which featured a performance from a stripper.

Originally published as ‘Our Willy Wonka experience’: Attendees left fuming after ’bizarre’ Swift concert