Tie-dyed strife: Skull & Roses struggled to make payments before canceling Ventura fest

A financially strapped Skull & Roses festival that paid tribute to the Grateful Dead was scrapped by organizers nine days before it was set to begin in a drama befitting the lyric, “what a long strange trip it’s been.”

The outdoor festival debuted seven years ago, bringing hundreds of Deadheads to the Ventura County Fairgrounds each year, many of them staying in RVs, buses and other vehicles. The four days of Dead tribute bands, dancing and tie-dyed merchandise was set to start April 18.

Fest founder Chris Mitrovich announced the event’s cancellation on Tuesday, citing “financial devastation” from last year’s show. In a letter sent to people who reportedly spent as much as $2,000 for tickets and lodging, Mitrovich emphasized tickets and hotel rooms sold by the festival were not refundable.

“We sincerely wish that funds were available to refund all purchases,” he said. “Unfortunately, this is simply not the case at this time.”

The announcement triggered anger with some people hinting in online posts at legal action. But as the dust settled on Thursday and Friday, many of the Deadheads reported that Eventbrite was providing refunds with others contacting credit card companies to dispute charges.

Sarah Jenks Flesher, a Ventura artist, planned to camp out at the fairgrounds in a friend's bus for the festival. She paid $600 for tickets for two people and got all of it back.

“Eventbrite has been refunding everybody,” Flesher said, explaining she was disappointed but not angered by the canceled fest. She focused on Mitrovich’s announcement.

“The letter was not worded well. So many people got so upset," she said. "By the next day, people were getting their money back.”

Kevin Miller of Austin, Texas, spent $830 for tickets and a camping space and initially wondered whether other buyers were organizing to get their money back. He was refunded Thursday by Eventbrite and expressed relief in an email.

“I have attended many music festivals before but have never been given an indication that a cancellation by the festival organizers would result in a zero refund,” he said.

Early signs of financial issues

Eventbrite is a global platform where people can promote and sell tickets for their events. Platform officials said in an email their policies call for event creators, like Skull & Roses, to be responsible for refunds. In this instance, they decided to open up a refund window though they don't have any ticket sales proceeds.

"We're refunding out of pocket while we work on recovering funds from the event creator," they said.

There had been earlier signs of possible financial strain on Skull & Roses. Attendance at the festival held in April 2023 was down, according to fairgrounds officials. The event included shows by Phil Lesh and Friends, the band headed by the Grateful Dead’s former bassist.

The festival was late in paying $110,000 owed to the property for the five-day event, said fairgrounds sales manager Jason Amelio. The amount was eventually paid in full.

Amelio said in an email the fairgrounds still agreed to rent space for the show this year in part because of assurances all contractors would be paid in full. He said new investors had joined the Skull & Roses team.

The agreement for this year's event called for Skull & Roses to pay a $15,000 advance and also provide 80% of what it owed two months before the event, Amelio said.

"There is currently an unpaid balance," he said, not disclosing the amount but noting some of it involved equipment and labor set to be used during the event.

“We are extremely disappointed not only that the event will not take place but in the way it has been addressed with their ticket holders,” Amelio said, noting the first indications of problems didn’t emerge until late last week. “We had been in regular contact and were told repeatedly over the last several months that everything was on path and looking good.”

'Nothing left to see'

The Skull & Roses website on Friday showed only Mitrovich’s letter about the decision not to hold the event. An email to the festival was not returned. In his message, Mitrovich said organizers had no financial choice but to cancel the event.

“We have maintained hope and exhausted every imaginable possibility, right up to this very moment,” he said. “It has now become clear, however, that we have reached the end of the line.  All the cards are down and there’s nothing left to see.”

James Donovan owns a Santa Cruz business that sells Grateful Dead merchandise and said he served as merchandising director for the festival. He said the cancellation was a “huge hit” for him financially but expressed no anger about the pulled plug.

“I know the great lengths a lot of people went to (try to) make it happen,” he said. “It’s heartbreak for the people who were involved in putting it on. It's crushing. It’s heartbreak for the attendees.”

On social media, some ticket buyers remained angry on Friday. Others focused on plans for other Dead tribute shows being scheduled in the area to fill the void. Some expressed hope the festival will return next year.

Blair Ping, bassist for Dead tribute band Hyryder, said the Indiana group wasn’t paid for its scheduled festival performance. They’re still coming to Ventura and have lined up several other shows in the region.

“We’re making lemonade here,” he said.

Flesher of Ventura said she was “crushed” by the cancellation but harbors no resentment. She described the festival as a circus that attracts “happy, peaceful people in tie-dye.” She also noted many of the festival attendees have kept their plans to come to Ventura.

“There are going to be a lot of hippies running around next weekend,” she said.

Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.

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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: More revealed about canceled Skull & Roses festival in Ventura