Soundwave Revolution Canceled, Fans Upset
Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at 12:01AM It is never good news when a big festival is canceled. Soundwave Revolution was set for next month in Australia. Van Halen was set to headline. One of the given reasons for the cancellation was the fact that a secret, unnamed headliner pulled out. Now apparently there's word that headliner was supposed to be Aerosmith. Turns out that that poor ticket sales had more to do with the cancellation than anything else.
But all is not lost. Apparently the Soundwave Revolution promoters are working hard, putting together mini-fests. From everything I've read, Van Halen is out officially but it seems Alice Cooper may still travel down under. Some of the bands are being shuffled to Soundwave 2012.
In case you have tickets to Soundwave Revolution, here's the official statement. Our own Christian had tickets, flights and hotel booked for this fest and now he's out a fun trip.
It is with great sadness that we announce the cancellation of the Revolution Festival.
Many of the festival bands will still be coming to Australia in that time period and team up to bring you some very special shows. These will include multi band/mini festival line-ups in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. We will be announcing these events in the next 7 days.
Tickets purchased online will be refunded automatically as soon as it can be processed. If you purchased from an outlet, refunds will be available next week from point of purchase.
Now, here's some thoughts from Christian on the matter:
I went to Soundwave last year, and had a great time. A really good mix of bands, well organized, Iron Maiden headlining, it was a great day. So, when Soundwave Revolution was announced, I bought tickets right away, booked flights and hotels. Van Halen, Alice Cooper, Machine Head, Steel Panther: I was excited. This morning I got up to find a message on Facebook asking if I was going to Soundwave. I responded with a "yes." It seemed like an odd question, out of the blue, but I didn't think anything of it. A few hours later, Allyson asks me the same question, then tells me it's been cancelled. So, wait. I bought tickets (two lots in fact, by accident), and people in America know it's cancelled, and no-one has told me? I've booked hotels, I've booked flights, I've made all sorts of arrangements to make this work, and no-one tells me anything? I went to the website, it said it's cancelled, and there's more info on their Facebook. Their Facebook just says "Revolution is coming." Apparently, it isn't coming at all. Now I need to work out how much money I've lost, and how much I can get back. The real shame is, Soundwave was the best festival I've ever heard of in Australia and I think it gave some of the US festivals I've attended a run for their money. For it to fold like this, means people will think twice before buying tickets to another one, which may well mean it won't happen anymore. I'd like to know the back story. I can't help but suspect that Van Halen pulled out, but I was also tracking sales to see if they sold-out so I could try to get my money back on my extra ticket (I'll at least get that, now). I don't think it was selling well, which I suspect is because it had a lot of bands like Hole that I don't think anyone cares about anymore. Van Halen notwithstanding (and I think Maiden is better than Van Halen in any case), I don't think this line up was as strong, although it was still strong enough to be a no brainer for me.
Reader Comments (3)
You can see more updates on this story over at VHND/Van Halen News Desk. As for Iron Maiden being better than VH; well that's a matter of opinion.
A lot of my OZ fan VH fans are really disappointed and rightly so. I feel bad for them and for any who lost money buying tickets and flight/hotel arrangements.