SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- KAABOO ticket holders said they are left in the dark over the future of the popular music festival.
Like most large events, the festival did not happen in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Organizers rescheduled it to September 2021.
Vince Matthews spent more than $850 on his VIP ticket. In July, organizers offered a refund to ticket holders or special perks if they held onto it for the rescheduled date. Matthews, a huge music fan, held onto his ticket. Now he’s worried his money might be gone.
“I go to a lot of different festivals,” Matthews said. “You could at least reply and say… we look forward to releasing the lineup in June or July. We'll be reaching out to you. But they haven't been active on any of the social media platforms whatsoever. It's like they vanished.”
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In 2019, it was announced that Virgin Fest was taking over the KAABOO brand. In addition to the new ownership, the festival was moving from the Del Mar Fairgrounds to Petco Park.
“I realized they have new ownership so maybe that's changed it,” Matthews said. “But I started trying to contact them in March, throughout April, [through] Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, the ticket agency.” He has also emailed KAABOO, with no response.
George Burgos, who lives in Los Angeles County, has gone to KAABOO every year since it began. He spent thousands on his tickets, purchasing the Hang Ten VIP passes. He paid monthly for the tickets through a payment plan and paid it all off.
He said he has not heard from KAABOO organizers since July. He was able to get in contact with one of the employees who helped him with his VIP passes in the past, but Burgos said the employees were also left “a little bit in the dark.”
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KAABOO’s social media accounts have not been active since July. Its website also doesn’t appear to be working.
Burgos said he’s losing not only the thousands of dollars spent on tickets but also the Airbnb he rented for the festival.
KAABOO organizers and Virgin Fest’s founder did not give an official response to Team 10’s questions. A spokesperson for Petco Park said they “have not been contacted by KAABOO to reschedule a date for their festival.”
“What everybody needs right now is live music or any kind of music to kind of put us in our happy spot or… connect us again,” Burgos said. “But not having them contact the fans or do what's right by the fans is even more disappointing.”
