ALTON, VA – “What’s the excuse?” Blue Ridge Rock Festival attendee Rebecca Peter-Patteson asked.
After three months of silence, organizers of the Blue Ridge Rock Fest are coming forward with an update.
“It didn’t really help me,” Peter-Patteson said.
They posted a lengthy statement on social media Friday trying to clear the air on what caused this year’s event to take the turn it did.
It says in part, “Our insurance policy has language restricting our public pronouncements until the claim is settled. This is the reason we have largely been silent.”
They go on to say they’re working, “Tirelessly to ensure a timely resolution.”
But Peter-Patteson told 10 News a timely resolution would have been months ago.
“I was thinking it would just, I guess, be offered. Like, ‘Hey, we didn’t do what we needed to do, here’s part of it,” she said.
Peter-Patteson said she spent over $800 for her and her daughter to attend the festival - and was hoping for even a partial refund.
Many people have been able to get refunds through individual banks, claiming they didn’t receive the service they paid for. But Peter-Patteson’s bank couldn’t help.
“I explained to them that I wasn’t looking for a full refund, just a partial ... nothing,” she said.
Caleb Rupersburg drove over ten hours from Michigan and spent over $1,500 at the festival but he said from the get-go, he wasn’t hopeful for a refund.
“From hearing people’s previous experiences, I didn’t expect much of it,” Rupersburg said
He said Blue Ridge needs to take a look at more than just giving people refunds.
“To leave 60,000 people in the dark like that still for the majority of it. And I also feel that Blue Ridge needs to address more of the issues that happened regarding their staff because obviously many of the staff have spoken out,” he said.
As for now, festival officials said it’s expecting a response to their insurance claim in the first quarter of 2024, or shortly after.
10 News has been covering the Blue Ridge Rock Fest Fallout since the initial cancellation.
We heard from some festival-goers who claimed that the weather cancellation wasn’t their only concern: Unsanitary conditions, not enough water and dangerous weather were just some of their claims.
Others came forward with claims of illness stemming from the festival, too. The Virginia Department of Health was investigating complaints of gastrointestinal illness in people who attended the festival.
10 News spoke with stagehands after the cancellation, one of whom said it was all a mess from the start. One stagehand claimed he and others walked out of the event after Friday night.
To see more coverage of the Blue Ridge Rock Fest Fallout, click here.