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Soundside Music Festival in Connecticut cancels 2025 event over ‘circumstances beyond our control’
NY Post ^ | 7/26/25 | Jacki Thrapp

Posted on 07/26/2025 2:26:43 AM PDT by Libloather

Party’s over.

Connecticut’s popular Soundside Music Festival shocked fans when it abruptly cancelled its star-studded event two months before its opening day.

“Due to circumstances beyond our control, [the] Soundside Music Festival has been cancelled,” organizers announced in a statement on the festival’s official website on Friday. “Tickets will be refunded to the original method of payment in as little as 30 days depending on your bank’s processing time.”

Festival organizers didn’t go into detail about what caused the cancellation.

Thomas Gaudett, the chief administrative officer for Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, alleged the festival was having trouble selling tickets, according to the CT Insider.

“It’s our understanding that this year’s lineup was drawing a lot fewer attendees than we have seen in the last few years,” Gaudett told the outlet. “And that may have had an impact on the decision to cancel.”

The cancellation allegedly blindsided Bridgeport officials, who insisted the city was “not involved in the decision-making process” and were told the project was being pulled after the decision was “finalized,” the outlet added.

The Post reached out to the festival for comment.

The festival was originally scheduled for Sept. 27 and 28 at Seaside Park in Bridgeport. It had already announced a massive lineup of alternative and electronic dance artists, including The Killers, Weezer, Hozier, Vampire Weekend, Alex Warren, and DJO.

The festival wiped its social media accounts, including its Instagram and Facebook pages, which had over 52,000 combined followers after the announcement.

Fans have complained about ticket prices in recent months, according to a public Facebook fan page for the festival.

General admission for a single-day ticket to the festival started at $170, according to the Soundside Music Festival’s now-deleted ticket page.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: History; Local News; Music/Entertainment; Society
KEYWORDS: 2025; cancelled; connecticut; music; soundside
“Maybe if they weren’t so greedy with the high ticket cost there would have been higher volume of tickets sold,” one Facebook user speculated on the fan page.

Vivid seats had the last one of four tickets for Taylor Swift in New Orleans listed as $78,000 before fees. It eventually sold.

1 posted on 07/26/2025 2:26:43 AM PDT by Libloather
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To: Libloather
The inaugural Sound on Sound festival, which was eventually rebranded as the Soundside Music Festival last year, took place in 2022 ...

This event, then, took place three years in a row before failing in the fourth year. Oh, well.

2 posted on 07/26/2025 3:13:57 AM PDT by Tax-chick (Sounds like a great idea, with the best of intentions. What could possibly go wrong?)
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To: Libloather
This may explain a lot...

CT's 2025 Soundside music festival lineup announced: Hozier, The Killers, 'Stranger Things' star Weezer, Vampire Weekend, The Backseat Lovers and Joe Keery, who plays Steve in "Stranger Things," are joining this year's lineup.

3 posted on 07/26/2025 3:35:45 AM PDT by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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To: Libloather
Hmmmmm, from last month, on the owner of the promoter...

Netflix viewers call for Live Nation boycott after Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy

So one wonders about the Stranger Things tie-in in the CT lineup...

4 posted on 07/26/2025 3:40:40 AM PDT by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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To: mewzilla

I had no idea the AstroWorld show was such a disaster.
Live Nation /Tickmaster ☠️

Where the heck was the Fire Marshal ? Inept planning ,some heads should roll.

A county owned facility within Houston city limits. Who’s in charge here ?

They’re trying to pull this operation off without proper communications . This death trap should have been shut the f down.


5 posted on 07/26/2025 4:17:53 AM PDT by OldHarbor
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To: Libloather

All the artists selected have no more than five music hits... combined.

“Bridgeport, Connecticut is a diverse city with a population of approximately 148,654. The city is predominantly Hispanic, with 36.2% of the population identifying as such. White residents make up 32.4% of the population, while African Americans represent 22.4%. Furthermore, 17.3% of Bridgeport residents are not U.S. citizens, and 32.8% were born outside the United States.”

I think the canceled because of ICE.


6 posted on 07/26/2025 5:26:01 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (TDS much?)
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To: EQAndyBuzz
I think they canceled because of ICE.

Imagine celebrating at festivals in a country you entered illegally.

7 posted on 07/26/2025 6:17:50 AM PDT by T.B. Yoits
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To: EQAndyBuzz

All the artists selected have no more than five music hits... combined.

“Bridgeport, Connecticut is a diverse city with a population of approximately 148,654.

Music festivals are marketed to a wide audince across a region, not just the city they are in. I dare say most of the inhabinants of Bridgeport could ill afford a $170 ticket to this event. The location has capacity for the event. These events are boons to all aspects of the local economy, hotels, restuarants, caniabis shops, etc.

Portland Maine has a similar festival next weekend. Tickets are $137 to $444.

The ticket page lists lodging recomdations. They are $200 to $300 per night per person lodging.

I have no idea who any of the bads are and one band has already withdrawn.

This was controversail as the public park they are using is in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

https://www.backcovefestival.com/

They use image files to psot everything, so I cannot post it here. If someone else can, please do.


8 posted on 07/26/2025 8:44:49 AM PDT by Steven Scharf
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