Groove Fest cancels festival 48 hours before event; attendees are livid
As ravers from coast to coast begin piling in to dance music events for one of the country’s busiest festival weekends, not everybody is having the Labor Day they hoped they would. Groove Fest, a week-long destination festival hosted in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with headliners including Claude VonStroke, DJ Pierre and Derrick Carter, has canceled on its attendees less than 48 hours before the event was set to kick off on Sunday, September 4.
Festival organizers issued a statement on their Facebook (below) alerting purchasers of the cancellation claiming they were “unable to hit our ticket sales targets” as well as being “unable to fulfill some of our contractual agreements.”They proceeded to tell guests: “We strongly advise you not to travel to Punta Cana unless you are able to organize alternative accommodation and still wish to travel regardless of the cancelled event.”
To make matters worse, the post warns festival-goers: “there will be no refunds in this case.”
This triggered a firestorm of backlash in the comments section from understandably angry patrons who paid thousands of dollars to attend the paradisal affair, some of whom spent upwards of $10,000.
Upon further investigation of Groove Fest’s purchase terms and conditions on their website, the section labeled ‘canceled by us’ states: “Should we cancel Groove Fest in circumstances other than those listed above [only actions of misconduct, natural disasters or act of God], we will offer you a full refund.” The regulations also stipulate that “If there are insufficient bookings for the Event, we reserve the right to cancel and let you know at least 7 days before the start of the Event.” In this case, they only made patrons aware 48 hours or so ahead of time. It seems attendees could have a viable argument in court if legal action is taken.
We’ve out to Groove Fest’s director, Jason Nelhams, for comment.
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