If you’re a music fan in BC, there’s one beautiful city in BC that may leave you with the ugly feeling of FOMO.

For a few summers, “Pemby” was a highlight for local music enjoyers. And it wasn’t even just the music that drew people’s attention but the scenic views that Pemberotn has to offer. You were camping at the base of Mt. Currie, surrounded by some of the most insane views in the province, watching artists like J. Cole, Pearl Jam, and Snoop Dogg. It felt like Canada’s answer to the massive European festivals.

But in 2017, the festival crashed in a way that left thousands of fans, mostly students and young adults, completely screwed.

May 18th 2017, the day the music died. 

It wasn’t just a cancellation, the festival had filed for bankruptcy. But the part that felt like a slap in the face was the notice on their website. 

“Unfortunately, there are no automatic refunds.” 

Imagine being one of the people who saved time and money, dropping $500 or more on tickets and camping, only to be told that your money was gone. The organizers had already collected over $8.2 million in ticket sales for the 2017 show, even though they knew they were drowning in nearly $17 million of debt. The industry reaction was immediate and brutal. 

Marc Geiger, one of the most powerful talent executives in music, called the situation “reprehensible.” He didn’t mince words when talking about the situation. 

“This is criminal what they did. They stole people’s money… then hid in bankruptcy.”

It’s hard to wrap your head around how a festival with that much hype could be so poorly managed. While organizers blamed the falling Canadian dollar and “mounting costs,” the reality was that they kept selling tickets right up until the afternoon they shut down. For a lot of fans of the festivalit felt less like business and more personal.

Most people only got their money back by filing “chargebacks” with their banks a long, frustrating process that took months of phone calls.

Pemberton was supposed to be a highlight of our summer. Instead, it became a warning story about the change in the music industry and that anything can happen behind the scenes of the festivals we love. Whenever I see a new event pop up in the valley now, I can’t help but think about those fans in 2017 who were left with nothing but a “proof of claim” form and a lot of questions.