Capulet Fest promised a three-day hard rock fest that will “have your mind blown,” according to its website.
But fans are pulling out their hair Monday trying to get their money back after cancelled sets, and a last-minute venue change too.
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“We all feel duped and all we really want is an apology,” said Kelly Breton of Springfield, MA.
The night before bands were set to take the stage at the three-day metalcore music event, organizers of the Capulet Fest announced a venue change blaming miscommunications with Thompson Speedway.
So, at the last minute, it moved the festival an hour plus away to a very different and much smaller venue, The Webster in Hartford.
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“A lot of people drove from 12 hours away, they came from across the country to go to this festival, a lot of people were really excited, and it’s been a complete letdown,” said Alix Ostempowski of Bristol.
Ostempowski had been looking forward to this for a year.
He bought a 3-day pass to the show.
“Friday was really good. Saturday it was getting a little iffy,” he said.
Come Saturday night, Capulet Fest canceled its Sunday lineup.
In a now-deleted Facebook post about this decision, organizers wrote in part:
“Sunday is no longer an option. We fought. We wrestled with obstacle after obstacle. We became a target. We became hated. Even when we were doing our best to save something and give you the best show possible….”
“They’re acting like the victim. Instead of taking responsibility that they screwed up,” said Breton, who had tickets just for Sunday.
NBC CT Responds reached out to Capulet Fest organizers multiple times for comment but haven’t heard back.
The Webster tells NBC CT Responds that Capulet Fest “failed to meet their financial obligations with The Webster in order to pay for staff operations, security, the production company, and more.”
We heard similar sentiments from the original venue, Thompson Speedway, whose general manager Scott Mayo, "The event organizers pulled out due to a monetary issue.”
In the meantime, the CT Attorney General’s Office says it’s already received about 40 complaints from upset ticket holders and a spokesperson says it is ” looking into these concerning allegations.”
Attorney General Tong is expected to hold a press conference Tuesday about the festival.
“Some fans are out several hundred dollars because they were planning on camping, they were planning on doing the meet and greet experiences, and unfortunately they were not promised any of the services that they paid for,” said Breton.
She used a credit card to purchase a ticket for Sunday’s show.
She’s already called the credit card company and she says it’s in the process of giving her a refund since it’s a service she paid for and never received.
Her situation is a great reminder about credit cards' extra protections.
But still, fans who experienced some of the festival performances are left in limbo with no answers from organizers.
“Not just the fans, the bands, the vendors, the venues, all deserve an apology,” she said.
