They enjoyed this disaster? How could that be?

 

I wasn’t going to write a column about the Blue Ridge Rock Festival though I was immersed in it all weekend. It was too depressing. I only write good news.

 

“Oh, you must write about it. Tell everyone about the good things, not the bad,” said a bed & breakfast guest, Korey Schroeder, from Springfield, Mo.

 

 I was thinking: What is good about spending thousands of dollars to come to a remote place like this and endure long waits and terrible storms, only to be sent home? More than half the audience was complaining of an apocalypse on a Facebook page, “Screwed by the Blue Ridge Rock Festival.”

 

“Oh, tell them about how much we liked the South Boston area,” she said. “When the concerts were cancelled, a lot of us found this to be a cool little place. Everyone was super friendly, and we especially enjoyed the wineries, Tunnel Creek, Woodbine, and the Springfield Distillery. Everything is so close, in proximity.” They found other displaced concertgoers making the best of a cancelled festival, enjoying themselves at World of Sports, Mexico Viejo and other locations.

 

There are thousands of complaints on the Facebook site about long waits for buses, overflowing toilets, impossible parking, water shortages and poor communication.

 

But Schroeder says, “We got there on Thursday and saw two bands before the storm. We were there all day Friday and had few issues. I think everyone realized it would be delayed Saturday, and we were able to mosey around local areas and find stuff to do. It’s a good economy booster for you guys.”

 

Personally, I was so glad not to be there. But most of our guests were philosophical, not angry, “You can’t’ do much about Mother Nature,” said one.

 

Our guests did see some improvement from 2022, when there were hours-long waits for buses to take them from the parking lot to the venue. A guest in a wheelchair found service for the handicapped considerably improved. Food was more plentiful, and things were more organized.

 

But that all fell apart when the unexpected storms came through and evacuation was chaotic.

 

Most of our guests left a day early, and we gave them a refund for one night. Refunds of tickets have been promised, as well, though that is sure to be complicated.

 

The consensus at the breakfast table the last morning: The festival, if it continues, should be smaller. Fewer bands and fewer fans would be easier to handle. Does it really need to be “the largest rock festival in North America?”