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Funk Fest Leaves Fans Out To Dry?
Attendees at Funk Fest in Kansas June 17 were fuming on social media after being denied refunds when inclement weather prevented most of the acts from performing at the event.
Image courtesy of Funk Fest. – Funk Fest
A poster for Funk Fest.
The show took place at
Fans complained of initial delays, with Andrea Villanueva of Kansas City, Kan., telling the Kansas City Star the show didn’t actually start until 8 p.m., despite a scheduled start time of 6:30 p.m.
From there, the only headline act that performed was En Vogue, which sang three songs, then told the crowd it was being ordered to leave the stage, the Star reported.
Fans were then told to wait in their cars, but the plan was to restart the show when the weather passed and that fans should check in on a local radio station.
The show did not go on though, and the amphitheater eventually posted on its Facebook page that, due to lightning, the remainder of the festival would be canceled. It soon followed with another post informing patrons that tickets would not be refunded and requests should be directed to the promoter, Variety Entertainment.
The event was billed as an “all weather” event, though it is usually considered standard industry practice to evacuate outdoor venues when there is a reasonable chance of injury from lightning. While some fans expressed understanding of safety concerns, most were furious at the lack of refunds, having barely seen any musical performances.
“I called Ticketmaster for a refund. Was told that they will not honor a refund because OVER HALF THE SHOW had been performed by the venue/promoter,” Angela Longsdorf wrote on Facebook. “Some of us bought tickets back in February when this concert was announced and cannot dispute it with our banks or credit cards now! This is some fraudulent, foul ass [expletive]! I realize you can’t control the weather but do the right thing and GIVE US OUR MONEY BACK!”
At press time the amphitheater’s Facebook post on the lack of refunds had received 175 responses, including attempts to organize group complaints with the Kansas Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau and threats of a boycott against the venue and the radio station sponsoring the event.
“Whoever is running this amphitheatre needs to grow a pair and stand up for your customers! You are going to lose a ton of customers with this type of b.s.! Stop passing the buck and learn to run a business,” Monica Allen wrote on Facebook.
Reps for the amphitheater and Variety couldn’t be reached for comment at press time.