SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (NewsNation Now) — Thousands of irate festivalgoers in Texas are now demanding refunds after the concert they bought tickets to turned out to be a total flop.
Fans thought they bought tickets to see Puerto Rican rap stars Myke Towers and KEVVO. Instead, they say they waited in line for hours only to be met with no lights and no music after the power went out at this weekend’s Sol Beach Fest on South Padre Island.
“I did feel kind of like afraid, a little bit scared because it was dark,” said Monica Moreno. “I mean, you don’t know anybody, the crowd, how they were going to be.”
Festivalgoers told NewsNationNow.com that event organizers were not communicating, which only added to the confusion. Attendees waited hours for the power to be restored and were then told to leave with no explanation.
“I had just never experienced anything like that at all,” Moreno said.
A show promoter said the chaos was due, in part, to the lack of staff at the entrances and that the generator could not provide enough power.
The event was so understaffed that some performers had to help set up before their sets.
The local parks director said the father-and-son duo that runs the AARM business group approached the county about hosting a show along the beach. He said this was the first show of its kind held at Isla Blanca Park.
It wasn’t, however, the first music festival to leave fans feeling cheated.
In 2017, the infamous Fyre Fest left fans out in the cold, literally, and lost millions for investors. The founder, Billy McFarland, pleaded guilty to defrauding investors and ticket holders.
Back in Texas, Sol Beach Fest organizers say tickets aren’t refundable but they will ask the artists to return and finish the show at a later date.
Tickets would be honored then.
“I think I speak for everyone when I say this, I think everybody just wants their money back because that concert was a total bust,” Moreno said.
No word yet if Myke Towers or any of the artists will be willing to give Sol Beach Fest another chance.