Organizers of the Blue Ridge Rock Festival announced that the 2024 edition of the event has been canceled.
The festival, held across four days at the Virginia International Raceway, featured a multi-stage lineup that included artists such as Slipknot, Danzig, Testament, Shinedown, Papa Roach, The Used, and more.
Event organizers shared news of the cancellation via social media, writing:
“Blue Ridge Rock Festival and Virginia International Raceway are saddened to announce that the 2024 Festival will not take place as originally planned. Our number one focus and priority has been, and remains, settling the insurance claim and ensuring resolution for everyone affected by 2023’s weather cancellation.
“After thorough consideration and discussions between both parties, we have mutually agreed that hosting the festival in 2024 is not feasible at this time since we are still awaiting a resolution for 2023. As a result, all items purchased for the 2024 Festival will be fully refunded. Contrary to online reports, 2024 tickets were placed on-sale at the very start of the 2023 festival (not any time recently), just as we did in 2022. This 2024 on-sale took place well prior to the weather-induced partial cancellation of the 2023 festival. The sales that did take place for 2024 have been held in escrow. We are working with the merchant processing company to streamline and process refunds. Please stay tuned to your email for 2024 refund information forthcoming.
“We would like to express our gratitude to Virginia International Raceway for their partnership and unwavering support through this unexpected, and unequivocally challenging time. What has occurred behind the scenes over the last several months with Blue Ridge has often been incredibly unique and unprecedented for a Music Festival, but VIR has graciously understood, maintained faith, and worked through each situation with us.
“While Blue Ridge Rock Festival will not take place in 2024, we look forward to revealing what the future holds in 2025. We are very grateful for an incredibly passionate fan base that organically took a tiny one day Festival, in rural Virginia, to unbelievable heights, through fan engagement and innovation in its lineup, experiences, and overall curation.
“Thank you to all our supporters, attendees, and partners for your understanding and infectious support of Blue Ridge Rock Festival. We look forward to soon resolving 2023 and 2024 for all.”
The 2023 edition of the 4-day festival was canceled mid event last year with organizers citing potentially dangerous weather.
However, some festival-goers told WSLS 10 news that the 2023 edition of the festival had sanitation issues and the NBC affiliate also reported that Virginia Department of Health was investigating complaints of gastrointestinal illness potentially connected with the event.
Additionally, 10 News also spoke with stagehands who complained about working conditions at the festival, describing staff living conditions at the event as challenging.
“Immediately just greeted with the smell of mold. It was dilapidated and run down,” stagehand Devon Taylor told News 10.
According to Taylor, multiple stagehands were planning to stage a walk-out on the festival on Friday night before it was canceled.
“The combination of us, the security, just the complete degradation of the event itself, they were realizing that they had a hot mess on their hands and it was not going to be able to continue,” Taylor said.
