In what has shades of the infamous ‘Blue Ridge Rock Fest‘ debacle, this year’s ‘Capulet Fest‘ has found itself at the center of a firestorm following last-minute lineup and venue changes. Originally booked for June 28th-30th at the Thompson Speedway (13,000 venue capacity) in Thompson, CT with a lineup of 55 artists, the festival has now been scaled down to The Webster (1200 venue capacity) in Hartford, CT. The announcement for this change took place roughly a day prior to festival’s planned kickoff tomorrow.
Nothing More
Senses Fail
10 Years
Cold
Saint Asonia
Impending Doom
Gideon
Sleep Theory
Until I Wake
Life In Your Way
Zero 9:36
VCTMS
Horizon Theory
Every Avenue
Makeout
Glasslands
The Ongoing Concept
Lightworker
University Drive
Oyarsa
While the confusion and last-minute changes haven’t sat well with many fans planning to attend, it seems a similar situation emerged with those working behind the scenes as well. A publicist working the festival announced earlier today that they decided to sever ties with the festival this week, stating:
“We are stoked about our intimate, unique Sunday lineup! It isn’t lost on us that losing the ultimate homies in Senses Fail and Nothing More is a letdown, we know that what remains is still worth making memories! We chose to keep the fest happening. Sometimes in life, you need to pivot. Our new venue is amazing, and we’re so grateful to The Webster for opening their doors. Come out. Come rock. Get sweaty.”
As it currently stands, the revised daily lineups for the festival, which were unveiled today, will run as follows.
Friday, June 28th:
August Burns Red
Blessthefall
Haste The Day
Hollow Front
Ekoh
Archers
If Not For Me
Gina Fritz
American Dream Machine
Saturday, June 29th:
Skillet
RED
Adelitas Way
Upon A Burning Body
It Dies Today
Mike’s Dead
Uncured
Deadlands
Rookie Of The Year
Set For The Fall
Major Moment
LiveKill
Valoria
Saved By Skarlet
Magnets For Maniacs
Dystopica
Sunday, June 30th:
Taproot
Lacey Sturm
Alesana
Islander
Eyes Set To Kill
Of Virtue
Letter Kills
LIMBS
Bloodlines
Nowhere Left
American Arson
While bands such as Gideon & Impending Doom cited “unforeseen challenges” with the festival in announcing their decision to drop off the bill, Nothing More, who were originally set to headline the closing night, instead publicly spilled the tea.
The group claimed the promoters lost access to the originally planned venue and that fans were being shortchanged on previously purchased meet and greets and more. The gold-certified alternative rockers said on their social media tonight, June 27th:
“To our fans who were planning on attending Capulet fest —
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.
~Nothing More“
