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Frustrated fans speak out after music festival canceled and venue changed at short notice – NBC Connecticut

The Capulet Fest website says it will be a three-day hard rock festival that will “blow your mind.”

But fans are left tearing their hair out on Monday to get their money back after their performances were cancelled and the venue was also changed at the last minute.

The Connecticut Attorney General's Office is currently investigating.

“We all feel betrayed and all we want is an apology,” said Kelly Breton of Springfield, MA.

The night before the bands were due to take the stage at the three-day metalcore event, the organizers of the Capulet Fest announced a change of venue, citing misunderstandings with the organization of the Thompson Speedway.

So at the last minute, the festival was moved to a completely different and much smaller venue over an hour away: The Webster in Hartford.

“A lot of people travelled 12 hours, they travelled from all over the country to come to this festival. A lot of people were really excited and then it was a total disappointment,” said Alix Ostempowski from Bristol.

Ostempowski had been looking forward to this for a year.

He bought a 3-day ticket for the show.

“Friday was really good. Saturday was a bit uncertain,” he said.

On Saturday evening, the Capulet Festival canceled its Sunday program.

In a now-deleted Facebook post about this decision, the organizers wrote, among other things:

“Sunday is no longer an option. We fought. We wrestled with one obstacle after another. We were targeted. We were hated. Even as we did our best to save something and give you the best show possible…”

“They act like victims instead of taking responsibility for the mess they made,” said Breton, who only had tickets for Sunday.

NBC CT Responds has repeatedly reached out to Capulet Fest organizers for comment but has not received a response.

The Webster told NBC CT Responds that Capulet Fest “failed to meet its financial obligations to The Webster to pay for operating expenses of staff, security, production company and more.”

We heard similar things from the original venue, Thompson Speedway, whose general manager Scott Mayo said: “The organizers withdrew for financial reasons.”

The Connecticut Attorney General's Office has now received around 40 complaints from angry ticket holders, and a spokesman said they are “investigating these troubling allegations.”

Attorney General Tong is expected to hold a press conference on the festival on Tuesday.

“Some fans have lost hundreds of dollars because they planned to camp and participate in the meet-and-greet experiences and unfortunately were not promised any of the services they paid for,” Breton said.

She used a credit card to purchase a ticket for Sunday's show.

She has already called the credit card company and explained that they are in the process of refunding her because it was a service she paid for but never received.

Your situation is a good reminder of the added protection of credit cards.

But fans who have experienced some of the festival performances are still waiting for a response from the organizers and are waiting for their response.

“Not only the fans, but also the bands, the vendors and the venues deserve an apology,” she said.

Anna Harden

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