Organisers of a three-day festival set for Thompson, Connecticut, this weekend are under fire after a last-minute venue switch led to bands pulling out and fans demanding refunds.
Capulet Fest was scheduled to take place at the 13,000-capacity Thompson Speedway in the US state of Connecticut tonight (Friday, June 28) through to Sunday (June 30).
But barely a day before the event was due to kick off, organisers announced it was moving 50 miles and a one-hour drive away to the much smaller 1200-capacity The Webster in Hartford.
That led Sunday's headliners Nothing More to announce they were no longer involved and confusion surrounds whether Sunday's lineup will take place at all.
Initially, 55 bands were on the three-day lineup, but at least 20 acts have dropped off.
Friday is being headlined by August Burns Red while Skillet are still showing as Saturday's main event.
On Thursday, original venue Thompson Speedway released a statement, saying: "Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park would like to confirm that the Capulet Fest is no longer happening at our facility. All additional details about the future of the event will be coming directly from Capulet.
"Thompson is not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Capulet Fest or Capulet Entertainment."
That was followed by this statement from Nothing More: "Despite our best efforts, we unfortunately we won’t be playing this show. The band and our crew were all in Nashville rehearsing when we got the news that the promotor had lost access to the venue.
"Capulet Fest were able to find an alternate location for Friday and Saturday, but not for Sunday when we were scheduled to play. Earlier today we were sent a proposed statement from the festival that was a blatant attempt to minimize their responsibility for the situation and even more egregious than that, it offered no solutions for refunds for people who bought single day tickets for Sunday, nor did it offer refunds for people that bought VIP Meet & Greet tickets through the Capulet Fest website.
"This is simply an unacceptable way of doing business and we have lost all respect for the way they are handling the situation. While we may have lost tens of thousands of dollars in crew costs, flights etc, this is nothing compared to a fan losing their hard earned money they spent on tickets to see a show and have a great time with friends and family.
"We will continue to apply pressure on the promotors to do the right thing and hope that you will join us in pursuing the festival to issue refunds to all those who deserve them. We are so sorry to have such bad news on the eve of releasing our new album and we look forward to seeing you on tour as soon as possible."
Senses Fail also confirmed they were off the bill, along with others including 10 Years, Cold, Saint Asonia, Impending Doom, Sleep Theory and Until I Wake.
A publicist working with the festival severed ties this week, and fans have been angered by the late switch to a venue an hour away and with limited parking and no camping facilities.
pic.twitter.com/LvjLesDlJ8June 27, 2024
We have had to drop off Capulet fest this weekend and apologize to anyone who was looking forward to seeing us. We are offering guest list to the Boston date of the NJ vs The World Tour in November to those whom bought tickets. Please sign up below.https://t.co/MverSOdhu4June 27, 2024
