Festival bosses have had to cancel a dance music event with just a few weeks to go (Picture: YouTube/@OfficialSomaRecords)
Music fans have been left crushed after a popular festival was forced to pull the plug on the entire event just a few weeks before it was scheduled to take place.
Riverside Festival Glasgow’s organisers apologised for making the ‘extremely difficult decision’ to cancel after ‘lower-than-expected sales’ as well as increased costs.
This left bosses of the popular dance festival deciding they wouldn’t be able to deliver the two-day event ‘to our usual high standards’, devastating fans.
The 2024 edition had been set to take place over the late May Bank Holiday weekend and feature acts including Green Velvet, Charlie Sparks, LF System, Eliza Rose and La La.
‘Absolutely gutted we’ve not been for a year and normally always go for techno Sundays,’ shared fan Lee Foster Melly on Facebook, while Lydia Laws wrote: ‘Sad news, big love to the full team and everyone involved. It’s a tough scene out there for festivals across the board right now!’
As another fan said the news had ‘ruined my day’, others also criticised the ‘decline’ in the lineup and pointed to the rising price and the cost-of-living crisis as not helping either.
Riverside Festival Glasgow celebrated 10 years in 2023, but underperforming ticket sales were an issue this year (Picture: YouTube/@OfficialSomaRecords)
In 2023, the festival had celebrated its 10th anniversary, and previous acts to have performed there include Derrick May, Dave Clarke and Sims.
Riverside Festival Glasgow’s organisers announced in a statement: ‘It is with deep regret and heavy hearts that we’ve taken the extremely difficult decision to cancel this year’s Riverside Festival.
Fans were gutted to miss out, although some had criticisms (Picture: YouTube/@OfficialSomaRecords)
‘With lower-than-expected sales and increased infrastructure, staff, transport, and artist costs, all in an over-saturated event landscape, we could not deliver the festival to our usual high standards.
‘We understand how upsetting this is for those of you who have bought tickets, and we sincerely thank you all for your continued support.’
They also explained that ‘full refunds will be available from Skiddle & Resident Advisor within five working days’, as well as sharing some brighter news.
Previous acts to perform at Riverside Festival Glasgow include DJ Dave Clarke (Picture: Peter Pakvis/Redferns)
‘For those of you committed to dancing Clydeside, all is not lost!
‘We’re putting together two massive shows at the museum for you, taking place on Aug 31st & Sept 1st. Please save the dates and hold tight for sign up and line up announcements!’
This news comes in the wake of a difficult time in the live arts industry, even for the highest of profile projects.
Manchester’s Co-op Live arena has been forced to postpone its planned opening several times, disrupting shows from the likes of comic Peter Kay, Olivia Rodrigo and The Black Keys.
Take That has since made the decision to move their gigs from the £365million arena over to local rival venue AO Arena.
Last month, We Are FSTVL – which was set to take place on May 25 and 26 as well in London – was also cancelled.
The headliners of the electronic dance music festival were Eric Prydz and Chase & Status, iconic acts in the genre.
However, the festival cited event site issues after ‘record levels of rainfall’.
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