Pemberton Music Festival cancelled, not issuing automatic refunds

This year’s Pemberton Music Festival was scheduled to happen from July 13-16 in Pemberton, BC. Chance the Rapper, Muse, and A Tribe Called Quest were set to headline, and the rest of the bill included Run The Jewels, Tegan & Sara, Migos, Little Uzi Vert, Future Islands, Lil Yachty, The Avalanches, Joey Bada$$, Thundercat, Noname, Hamilton Leithauser, and Denzel Curry, among others. Up until 3 PM Thursday (5/18), tickets were still available for sale on the festival’s site. But as rumors of cancellation circulated, ticketholders tried to contact the festival on social media and found their twitter and instagram accounts deleted. Pemberton have now updated their site with an official notice of cancellation, as well as announcing their bankruptcy. Read the full notice below.

One key detail in the notice is that the festival is unable to automatically issue refunds. Ticketholders can file a proof of claim form through Ernst & Young, the festival’s trustee in bankruptcy, and they may be able to get some or all of their money back, but they won’t hear back for “several weeks.” Ticketholders who paid by credit card may have more luck requesting a chargeback.

Another Canadian festival, Wayhome in Ontario, is making out-of-luck Pemberton ticketholders the same offer they extended to those who were supposed to attend Fyre Festival: free passes.

News Talk 980 CKNW provided further details about the Pemberton’s financial troubles:

Documents obtained by Global News and CKNW from accounting firm Ernst & Young show that “decreased ticket sales and increased operating losses” have forced the festival to apply for bankruptcy
…
Those same documents suggest the festival has run into significant financial trouble, having brought in just over $8.2-million in revenue, with $22-million in budgeted expenses.

The festival also owes its creditors approximately $2.5 million U.S.

The documents state ticket sales in 2017 were down to an average of just over 18,000 per day, less than half of the over 38,000 per day sold last year.

Read on for the bankruptcy statement from Pemberton Music Festival:

IN THE MATTER OF THE BANKRUPTCY OF PEMBERTON MUSIC FESTIVAL LIMITED PARTNERSHIP AND 1115666 B.C. LTD. (Collectively the “PMF”)

TAKE NOTICE:

On May 18, 2017, PMF made an assignment into bankruptcy pursuant to Section 49 of the Bankruptcy
and Insolvency Act (the “BIA”). Ernst & Young Inc. (“EYI”) was appointed as the trustee in bankruptcy (the “Trustee”).

As a result of PMF’s assignment in bankruptcy:

The 2017 PEMBERTON MUSIC FESTIVAL IS CANCELLED.

The 2017 Pemberton Music Festival scheduled for July 13 – 16, 2017 is cancelled and will not proceed as scheduled. The Trustee will issue formal notice of the bankruptcy proceeding to all known creditors of PMF within 5 days of its appointment.

Unfortunately there are no automatic refunds from PMF. As PMF is now in bankruptcy, it has no ability to provide refunds for tickets purchased. However ticketholders may file a proof of claim form as an unsecured creditor with EYI in accordance with the claims process. Proof of claim forms will be mailed to known PMF creditors in due course and made available on the Trustee’s website. A determination of recovery, if any, on the claims of ticket holders from the estate will not be known for several weeks. The Trustee will provide an update to creditors in due course.

Refunds may be available to ticketholders from third parties if tickets were purchased using a credit card. As each bank and credit card issuer have their own specific policies, ticketholders are to contact their bank or credit card issuer directly to determine whether a refund can be obtained. The Trustee will provide further details concerning contact information for the various credit cards and financial institutions on its website.

Important information pertaining to the PMF bankruptcy proceeding is available on the Trustee’s website at: www.ey.com/ca/pmf or by calling the EYI representatives noted below:

For General Inquiries: Mr. Jason Oliveri at (604) 891-8493