Long-running industry publication Hits Daily Double have served up a rumor report spelling out what appears to have gone wrong with the 2025 ‘Sick New World‘ festival. Filed under their rumor mill section, the post lines up with the industry rumblings of the festival running into budgetary concerns.
That third annual edition of the event was scheduled to take place in April of next year. However, this past Friday, November 29th, saw the festival officially canceled. The organizers issued the below statement regarding that:
“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 the first two editions of the Las Vegas festival were headlined by System Of A Down and geared more towards the nostalgia of the original nü-metal scene, the 2025 edition took to branching out with a lineup more akin to that of a traditional metal and rock festival.
Among one of the root causes of the cancelation mentioned in the report is that festival had reportedly taken on booking too many bands, putting it at the risk of turning a profit. Jeffrey Shuman, who had overseen the festival since its inception, parted ways with Live Nation Entertainment earlier this year.
The Live Nation-partnered C3 Presents were thus instated to oversee the event’s booking. The latter company are said to have taken to trimming some of the roster just ahead of the lineup’s announce last month. There were even rumblings of some artists not being informed of their removal ahead of the lineup reveal.
Likely compounding the problem of the overstuffed lineup was just how expensive it was to pull off. Hits Daily Double noted that the two headliners alone in thrash metal legends Metallica and the returning nü-metal kings Linkin Park were commanding guarantees of roughly $5 million a piece.
The report further revealed that since announcing their lineup on October 15th, the event managed to clear only 1/3rd of its 60k capacity at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds in Las Vegas, NV. Those relatively sluggish sales were a stark contrast to the rather quick advance sell outs of the past two editions of the fest.
While the shift in lineup may be to blame for some of those poor sales, the high price of tickets can’t be overlooked either. General admission tickets started around $400 or more, with VIP options ranging as high as $1873. Despite the cancelation, Hits Daily Double mention that Live Nation Entertainment will still be on the hook to pay out each of the booked artists a percentage of their guarantee.
The first ‘Sick New World‘ festival launched back in 2023 with the likes of System Of A Down, Korn, Deftones, Incubus and Evanescence landing the top billing. This year’s edition retained a similar vibe, albeit branching out into some of metal’s up and coming artists, giving favorable spots to Bad Omens, Sleep Token and Knocked Loose. System Of A Down, Slipknot, A Perfect Circle and Alice In Chains were this year’s headliners however.
Next year’s planned edition however saw the festival heading in somewhat of a more traditional rock festival direction, with Metallica, Linkin Park, Queens Of The Stone Age, AFI, Evanescence and more leading the charge.
Among the more unique offerings lined up were a live appearance for the first time in decades from reunited sludge metallers Acid Bath, and a rare live set from supergroup Tomahawk. Overall though, the 2025 bill did skew a bit heavier into radio and alternative rock music than past incarnations.
While next year’s event is no longer going forward, the future of the festival as a whole isn’t being ruled out. System Of A Down‘s John Dolmayan stated on social media on November 29th that the festival “will be back.”
The lineup revealed for the scrapped 2025 edition of ‘Sick New World‘ ran as follows:
- Metallica
- Linkin Park
- Queens Of The Stone Age
- AFI
- Evanescence
- Ministry
- 311
- The Sisters Of Mercy
- Gojira
- Acid Bath
- Three Days Grace 2x
- Glassjaw
- The Flaming Lips
- Daron Malakian And Scars On Broadway
- Down
- Three Days Grace 2x
- Cannibal Corpse
- Meshuggah
- Tomahawk
- Melvins
- Testament
- Mastodon
- Refused
- Filter
- Cradle Of Filth
- Terror
- Mayhem
- X
- Underoath
- The Hives
- Carcass
- Kittie
- Poison The Well
- Mudvayne
- Exodus
- Machine Head
- Arch Enemy
- Twin Tribes
- Quicksand
- Sponge
- Die En Grey
- Static-X
- ERRA
- Stabbing Westward
- Rendez-Vous
- Deathklok
- Orgy
- Lacuna Coil
- The Birthday Massacre
- Nuovo Testamento
- Scowl
- Dope
- Show Me The Body
- Amira Elfeky
- Lebanon Hangover
- Napalm Death
- Seven Hours After Violet
- Vision Video
