Fans disappointed again as music stopped because of bad weather
In what has become a latespring tradition in Houston, bad weather brought trouble to a beleaguered Free Press Summer Fest.
The music festival was evacuated for a second consecutive day Sunday afternoon and then eventually canceled.
“Patron experience and safety is paramount,” according to a statement sent out on social media around 6:20 p.m. “Eleanor Tinsley Park is unsafe for the event to continue.”
While this is the first year weather has completely shuttered the festivities, it’s the fourth consecutive year weather has caused problems.
“It’s very poor planning, and it’s completely unsafe to have a festival on a bayou during flood season,” said Wade, a local performance artist who attended for the first time. “They should have this festival in April, May or September. And also don’t have it literally in the bayou. Houston needs to step their music festival game up.”
The event was moved to NRG Park in 2015 and 2016 due to flooding. Lightning caused delays those years and in 2014 at Eleanor Tinsley Park.
A 50-percent refund of the base ticket price will be given
for two-day passes purchased with a credit card within the next 7-10 business days. Those who paid cash at the box office should contact Front Gate Tickets at support.frontgatetickets.com within the next 30 days. Those who purchased tickets just for Sunday will receive a full refund.
Folks who bought tickets secondhand, via friends or online auctions, are likely out of luck.
After an alert went out at 2:38 p.m. Sunday saying performances were temporarily suspended due to lightning in the area, festivalgoers were urged to head toward the nearest exit and “take shelter in the parking garages adjacent to the main entrances toward the east and west.”
Many scurried to nearby restaurants and bars to wait out the bad weather. And several took to social media to voice their complaints about missing Charli XCX, Solange and Lorde.
“#FPSF should learn that this is not a good time of year to schedule any outdoor things because we always almost die in a flood every time,” Jay Stainton wrote on Twitter.
Twitter user Shelby Allison wrote: “Third time’s the strike for #FPSF they should have never changed weekends. It’s cursed.”
Pop singer Charli XCX tweeted at 3:09 p.m. Sunday that she had “just been told that my set at fpsf has been pulled coz of the thunderstorm.”
She was supposed to go on at 3 p.m. on the Saturn Stage.
“I’m so sorry guys. gonna go cry outside Beyoncé’s house now.”
Other acts, including DJ/producers Jauz and Jai Wolf, tweeted that they were working on finding alternative venues to perform.
The weather was just one of the problems plaguing this year’s edition of FPSF. Fans complained about the lackluster lineup, which didn’t include any true superstar headliners. The number of artists and stages was also noticeably smaller from years past.
Lorde, who was to be one of Sunday’s final performers, tweeted after 4 p.m. Sunday as she was en route to Houston.
“Flying there right now!!! Stay dry fingers crossed we get to play,” she tweeted.
“If we don’t get to play, I will try my hardest to meet up and give you a hug,” she told a few fans.
After the cancellation, she tweeted she was “so sorry” about the “apocalypse-style weather” and revealed a surprise she had in store for the crowd.
“Crying shame because me Charli (XCX) and Tove (Lo) had cooked up a cover of ‘Umbrella’ by Rihanna for you,” Lorde tweeted.
All three performers’ sets were canceled due to weather.
Saturday’s events were delayed by two hours due to lightning. The grounds were evacuated around 6 p.m. and reopened just after 8 p.m.
Sets from DVBBS, Grouplove, Post Malone, G-Eazy, Carnage, Milky Chance and Cage the Elephant were pushed later into Saturday night, with delays ranging from 20 to 80 minutes.