A Grateful Dead tribute festival was canceled last-minute, and organizers say they can’t refund all customers

Austin Turner
·2 min read

If there’s anything that can harsh the mellow of “Dead Heads,” it’s probably this.

On Tuesday, the founder of Skull & Roses, a Grateful Dead tribute festival that was set to be held in Ventura next weekend, announced it had been canceled. In the same announcement, it was noted that some who purchased tickets won’t get their money back.

“With deep sorrow I must inform you that SKULL & ROSES 6 has been canceled,” a statement signed by festival founder Chris Mitrovich reads in part. “In all transparency, the financial devastation of the 2023 show has made it impossible to sustain the weight of the new production.”

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It was not immediately clear what the “financial devastation” relating to last year’s show was, but the 2024 show was canceled just 10 days before the first day was set to kick off. The festival had been held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds each year since it began in 2017.

While the news of the cancelation was likely bad enough for fans, the statement also informed ticket holders that some won’t be receiving refunds.

“While tickets and hotels were sold on a non-refundable basis, we sincerely wish that funds were available to refund all purchases,” the statement says. “Unfortunately, this is simply not the case at this time.”

The Grateful Dead performs in Oakland, Calif., in 1993. The band has broken the record for the most Top 40 albums to chart on the Billboard 200. The Grateful Dead pulled out ahead of Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra with 59 total Top 40 entries on the chart Monday following the No. 25 debut of their archival release “Dave’s Picks, Volume 49: Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford U., Palo Alto, CA (4/27/85 & 4/28/85).” (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, tickets started at $60 for a single-day general admission pass and $600 for VIP.

Reddit users on the Grateful Dead subreddit report that they’ve been able to successfully refund tickets purchased through Eventbrite, a ticket sales website.

The three-day festival was set to include Grateful Dead-adjacent acts like Golden Gate Wingmen, Sage & Spirits and Dark Star Orchestra. It was not immediately clear if the scheduled acts would still be compensated.

Mitrovich said the future of the festival beyond 2024 was unclear.

While comments were turned off for the Instagram announcement of the cancellation, some Dead Heads on the Facebook post had strong words.

“So you sold tickets that you knew in advance you couldn’t honor. Why? So you could pay for last year,” said Jeff Cable. “Liars. Thieves.”

With the festival being a travel destination for some, the lost costs go further than just the price of tickets.

“So, what’s happening in Ventura that weekend,” said Stephen A. Collins Jr. “I still have a (non-refundable) plane ticket.”

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