If you think running a music festival is easy, you should talk to Frank Chandler. The Nateva Festival promoter dealt with all sorts of permit issues last summer and has just announced that this year’s fest has been canceled. A refreshingly honest statement posted on the event’s website cites “slower than predicted ticket sales,” permitting problems and “a very crowded summer festival season” as the reasons for the cancelation.
A domino effect should now take place as the bands booked for Nateva scramble to find new gigs. Luckily they have plenty of time as the event was scheduled for August 4 – 7. Bob Weir, STS9, Guster and Gregg Allman were among the acts booked for the ill-fated festival.
Here’s the complete statement from Nateva’s website…
It is with a heavy heart, and a great sadness that we cancel the 2011 Nateva Music & Camping Festival. After an epic inaugural year, we have found ourselves struggling at every turn as we have tried to push forward with preparations for this summer.
The challenges in assembling our lineup of bands, a lack of certain venue permits, a very crowded summer festival schedule and slower than predicted ticket sales have all contributed to our decision to cancel Nateva this summer. In the end, it’s all about being able to put forth a first rate event that everyone can be proud of and that our customers can enjoy. We just don’t have the confidence to go forward at this time.
Refunds in the amount of the ticket face value and per-ticket fees for tickets already purchased will be processed via the credit card that you made your purchase with. You can expect to see this refund reflected on your next statement, depending upon your billing cycle. Any questions regarding refunds may be sent to [email protected].
We are very grateful to the People of Maine, the Oxford Fairgrounds, our Customers, our Bands, and our wonderful Staff, and we just want to say, “Thank You” for all of your support. We look forward to seeing you out and about wherever there is great live music.
Sincerely,
Nateva Festival
We wish Chandler all the best and hope he’s able to put on another event one day as we heard nothing but raves about last year’s event.
[via Headstash.com]
