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An Australian music festival that featured superstars like Doja Cat and popular rapper 6ix9ine on its lineup has mysteriously been canceled in just over two weeks.
The Lunar Electric festival was scheduled to take place on the Gold Coast on March 11, but organizers announced on Thursday that it would be postponed until September.
The festival was also scheduled to tour Hamilton in New Zealand and Dubai, but ticket holders have now been told they can either receive a refund or hold onto them for later in the year.
In a bizarre bid to try to stop the massive refunds, festivalgoers were told they could bring a complimentary plus-one to the rescheduled September date if they kept their tickets.
But doubts were raised about the festival after it continued to sell tickets despite the lineup mysteriously disappearing from the website earlier this month and organizers had reportedly not yet secured the venue.
Popular musical duo The Veronicas claim they were owed $100,000 for their appearance at Lunar Electric festival last year
The Lunar Electric festival was scheduled to take place on the Gold Coast on March 11, but organizers announced Thursday that it had been postponed until September.
Questions were raised about the festival (revelers pictured attending the 2022 festival)
The initial lineup promised artists such as award-winning artist Doja Cat, American rappers 6ix9ine, Swae Lee, and British star Russ Millions.
However, organizers have been hit with allegations dating back to last year, when Australian pop star duo The Veronicas claimed they were still waiting for money owed to them for performing.
The lineup mysteriously disappeared from the website earlier this month, prompting several festival-goers to pepper the event’s social media accounts with questions about the event and when they could expect acts to be announced.
Ticket sales were also disabled with a message reading ‘TBA’ on the festival website next to the ‘buy tickets’ section for the Gold Coast and Hamilton legs of the tour.
“Unfortunately, we have had to make the difficult decision to postpone the March Lunar Electric tour until September 2023,” festival organizers wrote Thursday.
“We want to make sure we deliver the best lineup and experience for all of you and this just couldn’t be done at this time.
‘We apologize for the delay in bringing this to your attention and hope you will be there with us in September for what is going to be a great Lunar Electric tour!’
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The initial lineup promised artists such as award-winning artist Doja Cat, American rappers 6ix9ine, Swae Lee and British star Russ Millions (pictured attendees at last year’s Lunar Electric festival)
Grammy Award winner Doja Cat (pictured) was initially scheduled to appear at Lunar Electric 2023
While the festival had promoted big artists, a spokesman for a London-based booking agency said Russ Millions had never been booked.
“I have no idea why they are using the Russ Millions name as it is not reserved for this event,” LiveBase’s Patrick Alcide said. The Gold Coast Newsletter.
‘This is false.’
Hayden Moore, 28, of Newcastle, on the Hunter Coast, New South Wales, paid $189 for his ticket to Lunar Electric and said he did not expect his money back.
Having worked in the music events industry in Sydney and Newcastle, Moore told Daily Mail Australia that he immediately became suspicious when the lineup and advertisements advertising 6ix9ine suddenly disappeared.
When Moore asked for clarity on Lunar Electric’s Facebook, he was repeatedly ignored.
Hayden Moore, 28, of Newcastle, NSW, paid $189 for his ticket to Lunar Electric but has no hope of getting his money back.
Mr. Moore repeatedly asked the event about the lineup, but was ignored.
A week later, he wrote: ‘How long until the lineup is released or tickets are refunded?’
Mr Moore then told the event that he would report the festival to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), but has yet to receive any responses.
The 28-year-old said he had heard reports that artists and vendors from last year’s festival were still seeking payment.
He also asked how acts like 6ix9ine would be allowed into Australia given that they have faced serious criminal charges.
6ix9ine was sentenced to two years in jail in 2019 after pleading guilty to a series of robberies and gang shootings.
He was released in early April 2020 as part of a nationwide effort in the US to stop coronavirus outbreaks in prison.
Mr Moore approached Doug Jennings Park, which was to be the site of the Gold Coast event, to ask if they could shed some light on the events.
“They refused to comment on what happened to the festival and couldn’t confirm if it was going on, but they advised me not to book accommodation,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
Las Verónicas previously claimed that they were still waiting to get paid for their appearance at the event last year.
He said he bought the ticket on a whim, but added that he “knew I wouldn’t go through with it.”
“I think it could go ahead in September, but it won’t have any of the artists that were promised,” he said.
He also expressed concern about Lunar Electric’s promise to offer a free plus-one to customers who chose to keep their tickets.
“They could reach capacity and then it’s a safety issue if they can house it,” he said.
Moore, who now works in insurance, said he had heard of several other Australian music festivals that canceled at the last minute or promised performers who weren’t booked.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a festival that has announced an American artist in this type of music scene that hasn’t been cancelled,” he said.
Lunar Electric has already been under fire during its 2022 run.
Popular musical duo The Veronicas claimed last year that they were owed $100,000 for their appearance.
In a now-deleted Instagram post made by the event organizer announcing their 2023 tour, the sisters wrote: “Pay artists you owe from last year!”
The post was also inundated with comments from others who wrote ‘stop the cap’, which is a phrase meaning stop lying.
The sisters said in 2022 that they were still waiting to recover part of their fees.
We fly back from the US for these shows and flights are now expensive. We still pay for all the equipment, the whole band, all the expenses, flights, hotels, everything. So we’re out of pocket and we don’t get paid for this festival,” they told News Corp.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Lunar Electric for comment.