Artists Unable to Perform on Mainstage
The two-day weekend event at Turweston Aerodrome was hit by weather conditions that affected the main outdoor stage resulting in some of the acts on the main stage unfortunately being unable to perform. The unique combination of the rain, high wind speed and the direction of the wind resulted in the stage and electrical equipment being dangerously covered in water. This weather, in particular the wind, was freak conditions for the site, as it blew in the exact opposite direction to the prevailing wind on this site 270 days a year, this information was taken this into account when placing the stage in the original site plan.
All usual precautions were taken to allow for adverse weather conditions; the main stage construction used by the event has been used at dozens of UK festivals and is fully geared up for dealing with heavy rain and wind, but the unique combination of persistent rain and high winds blowing directly into the front of the stage made impossible to guard against this problem.
All bands showed up on site in good time for their performances but Crystal Castles, Hot Chip, Pendulum and the Chemical Brothers all agreed that it would be unsafe to perform on the main stage. Pendulum were happy to relocate to the Metropolis arena and performed the show of the festival to a rapturous response. Crystal Castles, Dan Le Sac and Scroobious Pip all played DJ sets on the Myspace bus. Every attempt was made to relocate Hot Chip to the Turbo arena but there wasn’t enough time to move the equipment and sound check them for the show. The Chemical Brothers looked at the option of playing in the Gatecrasher arena but the structure was not big enough for their stage requirements, furthermore there were health and safety concerns regarding too many people trying to get into that arena for their show and this was deemed dangerous. The bands have all confirmed this in writing and sent apologies to their fans and people at the event, this can be viewed on the front page of
www.summersoundsystem.comThe information was subsequently circulated around the festival site that the main stage would not reopen on Sunday evening. Gatecrasher understands that this announcement came very late in the day; however the reason behind this was that Artist Management and Organisers were working right up to this point to make the main stage safe for performance or relocate the bands to alternative arenas.
The main stage opened as planned on Saturday and headline artists played across all the arenas over the weekend including The Prodigy, Paul Van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, CSS, Digitalism, Mark Ronson dj set, Audio Bullys, Dizzee Rascal, Soulwax, Pendulum, Justice, Pete Tong, Dave Clarke, Luciano, Simian Mobile Disco, 808 State and Zane Lowe.
Unfortunately, Gatecrasher are unable to offer refunds to customers as a result of the Chemical Brothers and Hotchip being unable to perform, all bands have been paid in full and subsequently Gatecrasher will not be receiving a refund. Customers who purchased tickets did so for the Summer Sound System Event which included multiple artists, entertainment and facilities, and not solely for Sunday's main Act.
All event tickets clearly state, The promoters reserve the right to change the bill without prior notification, the purchase of the ticket is for the event not a specific artist.
Gatecrasher regrets any inconvenience caused and hopes that you enjoyed the weekend despite the problems due to the weather.