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Festival News: NEARFest 2011 Cancelled

Posted on Monday, March 28 @ 17:00:25 UTC by nightowl

We here at ProgressiveWorld.net are surprised to be sharing this news as NEARFest has been one of the longest running US prog festivals, and yet there it is in our inbox (on March 25, actually, we're still catching up on the last few weeks) Here follows the official announcement:

"It is our sad duty to inform you that 2011 edition of the North East Art Rock Festival has been cancelled due to a lack of ticket sales. This unfortunate result is likely the product of lower-than-expected interest in a transitional lineup of talented international acts combined with a slow-to-rebound U.S. economy. Despite utilizing our well-established avenues of communication and traditional revenue streams, including the annual Patron Program, it has become apparent to the five of us that ceasing operation of NEARfest 2011 is truly the only recourse.

"Though enthusiasm for an experimental new direction was not sufficiently obtained, we do greatly thank those of you that had already purchased tickets for your continued support. Rest assured that all tickets purchases will be refunded in full, including the donation portion of any Patron ticket. If any Patron would like to retain their donation status with the festival to help offset any cancellation fees we may incur, please contact Jim Robinson privately by email. For those who have already booked airline travel, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and hope that you can get the most value out of any non-refundable tickets. All hotel and car rental reservations should be well outside their respective penalty windows.

"We also apologize to the bands that were scheduled to play in 2011. We always look forward to presenting an exciting and diverse lineup of wonderful bands from around the world, and that includes getting to know some of them personally. We are truly sorry that we cannot have you grace our stage this year.

"Please note that no decisions have been made regarding the long-term future of the festival.

"Thank you for your understanding and support.

"Sincerely,

Ray Loboda, Operations Coordinator
Jim Robinson, Business Director
Kevin Feeley, Production Manager

Chad Hutchinson, Co-Founder
Rob LaDuca, Co-Founder

[Source: NEARfest]

Posted in Festival News