The massive 2023 Blue Ridge Rock Festival was set to take place over four days from Thursday (September 7th) through Sunday (September 10th) at the Virginia International Raceway, but due to severe weather and unsafe conditions, most of the fest was canceled.
A sudden storm hit on Thursday afternoon as Coheed and Cambria had just begun their set, forcing the fest to shut down for the day and preventing the biggest bands and headliners from performing. Fans missed out on sets from Five Finger Death Punch, Staind, Evanescence, Rise Against, and more.
Friday’s bill went on as planned, with Slipknot and Danzig headlining, although Rammstein singer Till Lindemann canceled his set due to illness.
However, things took a turn for the worse early on Saturday, when weather once again shut down the festival, with organizers determining that Sunday needed to be canceled as well. That meant that bands like Pantera, BABYMETAL, Lamb of God, Limp Bizkit, and dozens more never got to play.
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One shining moment did come when Shinedown, Papa Roach, and viral sensation Oliver Anthony did their best to salvage Saturday by performing an acoustic set in the parking lot (watch below).
The following statement was posted on the festival’s social pages:
“With heavy hearts, due to this weekend’s continued severe weather, we must announce the cancellation of the final days of Blue Ridge Rock Festival. Your safety and well-being are our foremost concerns. We understand the disappointment this brings, and we share immensely in your sadness. Please know that this decision was made with the utmost consideration for everyone involved and our focus now is on supporting those of you still on-site. We are working diligently to provide refund details and will share that information early this week when business re-opens. In the meantime, we encourage you to stay safe and take care of each other. This has been an agonizing turn of events for what was to be such a special weekend. There will be more much that we unveil over the next few days. Rest assured, we will take care of you despite these difficult circumstances. Thank you for everything. With heartfelt gratitude, Blue Ridge Rock Festival.”
Unfortunately, the storms wreaked havoc on the camp site, where tents were destroyed and RVs were stuck in the mud, leading to a messy and disappointing situation all around. Many fans on X (formerly Twitter) were calling Blue Ridge the “Fyre Fest” of rock festivals.
A Facebook group called “Screwed By Blue Ridge Rock Festival” was actually started last year after fans experienced problems at the 2022 festival, and has more than 20,000 members. Fans have been going there this weekend to lodge their complaints against the organizers for not being prepared for the weather, among other issues.
We love you all ❤️
Thank you for sticking around with us despite the rain and @BlueRidgeRock getting canceled!Thank you @TheBrentSmith from @Shinedown for pulling this idea together last minute for the fans and to @AintGottaDollar for joining us
🫶🏼🪳 pic.twitter.com/nehTCQiux4— Papa Roach (@paparoach) September 10, 2023
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