Identity Festival: Miami Reschedule Date Canceled

The live electronica and multi-DJ traveling festival was put on hold last monthdue to inclement weather and was officially reported to be finding a rescheduled date. Now the folks at Ticketmaster have informed ticket holders that the Bay Front Park dance music event of the summer will actually be canceled. Coming on the heels of the recent Langerado cancelation, this news is only adding insult to injury for the South Florida music  base.

Two interesting points in this email are the 2-3 week wait for refunds on tickets, and the statement that Identity Festival will be held again next year. Here is the release from Ticketmaster:

Attention ticket holder!

Message sent on behalf of the Klipsch Amphitheater at Bayfront Park in Miami, FL:

We just learned that your upcoming event has been canceled:
Identity w/Kaskade & More
Klipsch Amphitheater at Bayfront Park - Miami
Friday, September 30^th at 1PM

Dear Valued Identity Fan,

Due to Hurricane Irene we were forced to postpone the original date of the Identity show on August 25^th to September 30^th. Unfortunately, we are unable to reassemble the confirmed lineup of a large number of artists from the original date to September 30^th due to prior commitments. As a result the September 30^th show has been canceled. If you did not attend the Tampa Identity show at the 1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheater on August 24^th, a credit will be processed to your original account within 14 – 21 days. Identity will return, barring no Hurricanes, in 2012. We thank you for your understanding and continued patronage and look forward to seeing you in 2012.

We’ll automatically refund your order, including fees (except UPS and InStore Pick Up, if applicable) to your credit card within 14 – 21 business days.

Questions? Just hit reply and ask us or visit Ticketmaster.com!

Thanks for being a fan!

Ticketmaster Fan Support

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:

This message contains information which may be confidential or privileged.  If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of this information is prohibited.  If you have received this transmission in error, please notify me immediately by telephone.

Langerado 2011 Ticket Refund Update

Yesterday, three days after the NewTimes Broward/Palm Beach posted their story on the Langerado ticket refund debacle that gave reference to I Live Music, I received yet another follow up message from FrontGate tickets. This time the message was directly addressed to me:

Hello Adam,

I just wanted to drop you an email that your refund check was cut and put in the mail on Friday. A check in the amount of $150.00 was issued and mailed to 1215 NE 8th Ave. in Delray Beach, FL.

Again, you have my contact information should you not receive the check or have further questions.

Thanks,

Greg

--
Greg Johnson
Front Gate Tickets
512-674-9308
512-439-1204-Fax

I then responded with the following message:

Hey Greg-

Thank you for the updates, as they are greatly appreciated in this process. I am sure you have been busy trying to figure out the logistics of making sure all ticket holders for the Langerado Music Festival event received their proper compensation.

Given that, and your offer to be contacted, I would like to have the chance to discuss exactly what happened, and get any information you can give me about the festival and why it was canceled. More importantly I would like to know why the refund process has been a timeline of mixed messages, limited information and untimely refunds.

I work from 8:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT, so let me know if there is a good time for me to call you outside of these business hours.

I should also bring to your attention that in your emails thus far, the event has been misspelled as "Langarado."

Also, a noteworthy point to mention is that on my original purchase receipt it displays  having purchased a "3 Day Pass." I didn't catch this until recently, and thought that was odd given it was booked as a  2 day event.

Thanks again for the updates and I will look for my check in the mail.

Adam Smith

I am still waiting on a reply from Greg and FrontGate, as well as the check to come in the mail.

The NewTimes Broward/Palm Beach References I Live Music About Langerado

Editor of the NewTimes Broward/Palm Beach, Reed Fischer, looks to the I Live Music blog about the Langerado cancellation and refund debacle:

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/countygrind/2011/09/langerado_music_festival_ticket_refund_policy.php

Langerado Music Festival's Sketchy Ticket Refund Policy 

By Reed Fischer Fri., Sep. 9 2011 at 5:56 PM

Categories: Cancellations, Langerado 

The now-canceled Langerado Music Festival's ticket refund system is proving to be just as aggravating as the rest of the event. County Grind contributor Adam Smith posted on his blog today that he's being rewarded for his early faith in the fest with mixed messages regarding when he'll get his money back.

After purchasing early bird tickets more than three months ago (before the full lineup was announced), Smith writes that he could be waiting weeks after the cancellation to get his credit card purchase refunded.

The day after the cancellation was announced, Smith received an initial note from Boros Entertainment's ticket outlet, Front Gate Solutions:

Hello,       

The Langarado Music Festival has been canceled.

Your order will be fully refunded, you will see the credit within 48-72hours.      

Front Gate Tickets

A full 72 hours later, no money had been posted to his account, and a follow-up came later this week:

Dear Langarado Music Festival Customer,      

Your Langarado tickets were purchased as Early Bird passes in March of this year.     Since the transaction was made over 90 days ago, a credit card refund is not available, so a refund check has been cut to be mailed to you.    

Checks were cut yesterday and will go out in today's mail. You should receive your refund check in about 5-7 business days, they are being mailed from Austin, TX.    

If you do not receive your check or have any questions, please contact me.      

Regards,      
Greg Johnson Front Gate Tickets    
-- Greg Johnson Front Gate Tickets
512-674-9308
512-439-1204-Fax

Aside from the fact that both of these messages misspell Langerado as "Langarado," this approach does not bode well for anyone involved. Not only does it risk money getting lost in the mail, but it raises the question of whether these checks will cash once they arrive. We'll be following up with Smith to see if/when he gets his money back.

Calls to Johnson were not returned before this article was published.

Please let us know in the comments section if you are waiting on a Langerado ticket refund or have already received one.

Langerado 2011 Adds Insult to Injury With Refunds

A little over a week ago the (not so good) folks at Boros Entertainment told us that the Langerado Music Festival would not go on as planned. No details were given and limited refund information on the Langerado website gave ticket holders the option to contact them.

Six days ago I received this message from Front Gate Solutions, the ticket outlet used by Boros Entertainment:

Hello,  

The Langarado Music Festival has been canceled.

Your order will be fully refunded, you will see the credit within 48-72hours. 

Front Gate Tickets

After nearly a week without a change in my bank records I received this message from Front Gate Solutions:

Dear Langarado Music Festival Customer, 

Your Langarado tickets were purchased as Early Bird passes in March of this year.
Since the transaction was made over 90 days ago, a credit card refund is not available, so a refund check has been cut to be mailed to you.
Checks were cut yesterday and will go out in today's mail. You should receive your refund check in about 5-7 business days, they are being mailed from Austin, TX.
If you do not receive your check or have any questions, please contact me. 

Regards, 

Greg JohnsonFront Gate Tickets
-- Greg JohnsonFront Gate Tickets512-674-9308512-439-1204-Fax 

The immense level of unprofessionalism and lack of communication between the festival promoters and ticket holders is astounding. The red tape of third party ticket retailer policies should have been cut the day the festival was canceled. The least Boros Entertainment could have done was expedited the refunds of money invested into a failed event.


The projection for reimbursement is now a full 16-18 days since the festival cancelation.

Langerado 2011 Canceled

Just two days after my open letter to Langerado 2011, this is what has appeared on their website.