Quote:Next Week’s Grateful Dead Cover Band Festival Canceled With No Refunds

NEWS  APRIL 10, 2024 9:40 AM BY CHRIS DEVILLE
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Traditionally, the Ventura, CA music festival Skull & Roses brings together a bunch of Grateful Dead cover bands for a full weekend celebrating the legacy of Jerry Garcia and friends. The sixth annual installment was to take place next weekend, April 19-21, with headliners Dark Star Orchestra and an undercard filled with many more Dead disciples. But organizers pulled the plug Tuesday, just 10 days before the festivities were to begin. They claim their funds have completely run out, and they’re not offering refunds to ticket holders.
In a message on Instagram Tuesday, festival founder Chris Mitrovich wrote the following:

Quote:Re: …Feelin’ Bad
Dear Dead Heads,
With deep sorrow I must inform you that SKULL & ROSES 6 has been canceled. In all transparency, the financial devastation of the 2023 show made it impossible to sustain the weight of the new production.
We have maintained hope and exhausted every imaginable possibility, right up to this very moment. 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.
This is not a choice, the decision has been made for us. Had we known (or stopped fighting) sooner, we would have let you know then. Please know that this is the truth. We feel exactly the same way that you do, in every regard.
Words cannot tell how much we appreciate your undying dedication and extreme connection with this show. We don’t know what the future holds. Please accept my most sincere apologies for the troubles this message will cause.
Gratefully,
Chris Mitrovich, Founder
SKULL & ROSES
REFUNDS: While tickets and hotels were sold on a non-refundable basis, we sincerely wish that funds were available to refund all purchases. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case at this time. Additional information will be provided just as soon as it becomes available and will be posted through our socials and at www.SKULLANDROSES.com

(04-15-2024, 03:14 PM)King Bob Wrote: Clearly there was no Bill Graham type in their organization.

(04-15-2024, 03:18 PM)Drunk Monk Wrote:

(04-15-2024, 03:14 PM)King Bob Wrote: Clearly there was no Bill Graham type in their organization.

You said it, brother. 

Such a disgrace. I think the Sphere gobbled up all the Deadheads' grilled cheese money...

Quote:New 11-day festival to celebrate Grateful Dead’s music in Central New York

• Updated: May. 10, 2024, 1:40 p.m.|
  
• Published: May. 10, 2024, 1:08 p.m.
  

Wonderland Forest is a new campground and concert venue near LaFayette, just outside of Syracuse.Warren Linhart | Contributing photographer

By 

• Geoff Herbert | gherbert@syracuse.com
  

Calling all Deadheads: There’s a new music festival in Central New York for you.

“Grateful Getaway: An Enchanting Cosmic Odyssey Through the Grateful Dead’s Musical Wonderland,” is an 11-day event set to take place Aug. 1-11 at Wonderland Forest near LaFayette, N.Y. Each night will feature performances of the Grateful Dead’s music by tribute bands and artists with ties to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group, including the Sam Grisman Project and Melvin Seals & JGB.

Sam Grisman is the son of bluegrass musician David Grisman, also known as “Dawg,” who played mandolin on Grateful Dead’s “American Beauty” album and collaborated with bandleader Jerry Garcia many times. Seals was a longtime member of the Jerry Garcia Band and kept the music going as “JGB” after the death of Garcia in 1995 and bandmate John Kahn in 1996.

Other performers include Dark Star Orchestra, which has performed as a Grateful Dead tribute band for more than 25 years; Pink Talking Fish Are Dead, a “fusion of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish”; Steely Dead, which combines Steely Dan’s musical precision with the Grateful Dead’s free-flowing improvisation; and Grateful For Biggie, a live hip-hop mashup of the Grateful Dead’s music with Notorious B.I.G.’s raps.

“This captivating event promises to be a euphoric celebration of the band’s timeless tunes, where the melodies of the past intertwine with the boundless energy of the present,” an event description says. “Imagine yourself immersed in a veritable wonderland, where the soulful strums of the guitar and the hypnotic beats of the drums beckon you to lose yourself in the moment. From sunrise to sunset, the Grateful Getaway will transport you to a realm where time stands still, and the only thing that matters is the pure, unadulterated joy of experiencing live music in all its glory.”

Tickets are on sale via wonderlandforest.com; prices are $199 for admission to all 11 days of music (without camping), $420 for 11 days of music and camping at Wonderland Forest, and $1,999 for an all-inclusive package that includes an exclusive tent site, private porta potty, meals, drinks and more. Additional fees may apply.

Tickets are also available for individual shows, starting at $25 for Sam Grisman Project, $35 for Pink Talking Fish Are Dead, $25 for Steely Dead, $39.50 for Melvin Seals & JGB, and $49.50 for Dark Star Orchestra.

Grateful Getaway Schedule

Thursday, Aug. 1 - TBA

Friday, Aug. 2: Sam Grisman Project

Saturday, Aug. 3: Sam Grisman Project w/ Grateful For Biggie

Sunday, Aug. 4: Pink Talking Fish Are Dead

Monday, Aug. 5: TBA

Tuesday, Aug. 6: Steely Dead

Wednesday, Aug. 7: Melvin Seals & JGB

Thursday, Aug. 8: Melvin Seals & JGB

Friday, Aug. 9: Dark Star Orchestra

Saturday, Aug. 10: Dark Star Orchestra

Sunday, Aug. 11: TBA

* * * * *

Wonderland Forest is a new campground and concert venue that opened last year with a 50th anniversary celebration of Summer Jam. The site is built on 400 acres of forest in the hills of Otisco, located about a 20-minute drive south of Syracuse.

Other upcoming events at Wonderland Forest include Trey Anastasio with Classic TAB on May 17, Dark Hollow (A Grateful Dead Tribute) on May 24-26, Papadosio Presents: Summer Sequence on June 21-22, Biscoland feat. Disco Biscuits on July 4-6, moe. on July 12-13, Greensky Bluegrass on July 18, and The Dave Matthews Tribute Band Presents – One Sweet World Festival on Aug. 16-17.