Metal Anarchy

When organizers announced that they would be canceling the last two dates of the Blue Ridge Rock Festival in Alton, VA due to weather, it caused an uproar from fans who claimed that other issues were at fault. This includes alleged shuttle issues, lack of food and sanitary conditions for employees, and more. Now, TankTheTech, a tour manager who was working for Electric Callboy, has shared similar accounts, calling the event “an utter shitshow.”

Tank says Electric Callboy faced a number of issues including a stagehand shortage, “non-existent” catering, water scarcity, lack of straps for transporting equipment, and more. He went on to say that the whole experience was “a step above ‘Fyre Festival‘, and I only say that because the bands actually played.” He also explained why he came forward [transcribed by The PRP]:

“I feel that people should be held accountable for this and that’s why I’m talking about this. Again, this was the most unorganized, unprofessional, unsafe production I’ve ever been a part of in my entire life touring. I can’t speak for any of the other bands because I don’t know how it was on the other stages.”

He blasted the organizers’ weather excuse as well:

“When I saw that the festival was canceled the next day due to ‘weather’, I was like no fucking way. I looked at the radar immediately and there was no weather in that area, at all. They canceled that festival because it was a shitshow. I talked to some friends that were there on that Saturday and I was told that a lot of the festival staff had walked off. They said ‘no, we’re not doing this anymore.’ They left.

The festival is blaming the weather for the cancelation for everything. Maybe that first day with the storms was what made everything go sideways. So you could maybe say weather was a reason, but it was not the reason. The reason this festival canceled is because it was an utter shitshow from the day it started getting planned. That’s my opinion from what I experienced.”

A report from WDBJ7 also shared a similar story. According to them, the event was unable to move forward after employees left due to “poor working conditions.” The workers reportedly went on strike after their list of demands was not met.

Among their issues was the bathroom situation, which saw only six porta-potties provided for 150 workers. They also lamented the lack of showers, catering, and shelter. An unidentified stagehand said the following about the harsh conditions:

“We were literally living around our own filth, in our own mess that we were trying to keep contained to the trash cans but [there isn’t] much you can do especially after a storm comes through and blows that stuff around.”

You can read more from WDBJ7 HERE and more from The PRP HERE. Notably, Blue Ridge organizers have since responded:

“Blue Ridge Family – thank you for your patience during these heartbreaking circumstances. There is an overabundance of misinformation circulatiing that we will fully address in due time. We see you, and are working as quickly as possible on our end to take care of you.

This past weekend’s weather cancellation was a collective one, made by the events emergency management team composed of state and county officials, as well as representatives from the venue.

We are currently in extensive discussions with our ticketing company and partners. we ask for a bit more of your patience as we work to provide you with resolution.”