Yesterday, November 29th, saw the shocking announcement of the cancelation of the 2025 ‘Sick New World” festival. After two sold out years headlined by Armenian-American nü-metallers System Of A Down with lineups that catered to nü-metal nostalgia, next year’s planned event took on an even more ambitious booking.
Top billing was given to the likes of thrash metal kings Metallica, returning diamond-certified nu-metal outfit Linkin Park and gold-certified alternative rockers Queens Of The Stone Age. Also of note was one of the first concerts from newly reunited sludge metallers Acid Bath in 28 years.
However, with a a lengthy roster of artists booked, industry rumblings began to circulate earlier this week of the annual Las Vegas fest running into budgetary concerns with the admittedly pricey lineup.
Trevor Dunn, bassist of Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk and more, appeared to be the first artist to to publicly confirm the festival was in trouble. Shortly after his comments began making the rounds online, organizers for the festival confirmed next year’s edition had been scrapped. That statement read:
“It is with great disappointment that we announce that Sick New World will no longer take place in Las Vegas April 12, 2025.
Despite our best efforts, we’ve encountered unforeseen circumstances that we are unable to overcome for next year’s show. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the all the dedicated SNW fans who had made plans to join us for another cultural celebration of hard rock, goth, alternative and heavy music. Please stay tuned for further and future information regarding Sick New World.
Tickets purchased directly from front gate tickets will be automatically refunded to the original method of payment in as little as 30 days.”
While there was no mention of the festival being over for good, it seems that at least one artist who would have firsthand knowledge is confident of its eventual return. John Dolmayan, drummer for System Of A Down, took to social media yesterday, November 29th, to state the following of the fate of the fest:
“Well , this bummed me out bad. I was so looking forward to going as a fan and enjoying these amazing bands with you guys. SNW will be back , and so will we if the fans demand it !”
Outside of his obvious connections to the festival, System Of A Down have also been clients of Velvet Hammer management for decades now. That connection is particularly relevant as Velvet Hammer CEO and owner David “Beno” Benveniste is a co-founder of the ‘Sick New World‘ festival.
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