FYF Fest 2018 is not happening.
Billboard reported Sunday that the Los Angeles festival will not happen this July due to poor ticket sales. The festival went from three days to two and was to happen July 21 and July 22 at Exposition Park.
Read FYF Fest’s statement below:
Janet Jackson and Florence + The Machine were the announced headliners, with women making up 46% of the overall lineup. Though it was purely coincidental, it was a good look for the festival that had to drop founder Sean Carlson from the company due to sexual misconduct allegations from multiple women as reported by SPIN in November.
Goldenvoice parent company AEG bought out Carlson’s 50 percent stake in the festival as reported in February, and announced the lineup on March 30. Ticket sales were reportedly so low that they decided to cancel the festival with two-plus months still to go before it was to take place.
The over-saturation of the festival market could be a likely reason FYF Fest didn’t fare so well, and Goldenvoice has to shoulder some of the blame for that. There are two weekends of Coachella followed by a weekend at Stagecoach in April. The folk and rock-driven Arroyo Seco Weekend made its debut last year and returns in June. There have also been smaller festivals thrown by Goldenvoice happening in SoCal, like Long Beach’s new The Smokers Club.
FYF Fest was once an August festival but took place in July for the first time last year. That one month earlier move could’ve had an effect with many people’s wallets not having recovered from the April festival swirl by then.
Some are considering the fact that Janet Jackson doesn’t fit the vibe of past FYF Fest performers. I’ve observed the fest to be a staple of the Echo Park and Silverlake late-teens and early-twenties (but also me) and Janet just doesn’t really resonate or have any relevance to that crowd.
I’m really hoping Goldenvoice can rebound and bring back FYF Fest next year — it’s a festival I’ve attended the last four years and have made many memories at. It’s a real Los Angeles staple and worth continuing.
