Capulet Fest 2024 was meant to be three summer days of “rock and metalcore mayhem” at a 13,000-capacity speedway in Thompson, Connecticut, in June. Boasting more than 50 bands including Impending Doom and Nothing More, two stages, loads of camping, booze and food zones, a VIP meet-and-greet lounge, and much more. The full experience cost $700.
“Witness history in the making,” ran the festival slogan. “Come, let us defy the stars.”
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But the day before the show, the organizers shifted venue to a theater in Hartford, fifty miles away, a capacity drop from 13,000 to 1,200. Many fans still turned up to Webster Theater for the Friday June 28 start, finding a shrinking bill at the shrunken venue. Bands including It Dies Today would not perform as advertised, yet the ailing “festival” limped on.
Until day 2, when, right as LiveKill ripped into its second song, the theater shut the whole thing down, later issuing a statement that bills were not getting paid. Bands, vendors, and fans were understandably apoplectic, venting up a storm on local news and social media, and launching a Victims of Capulet Fest 2024 Facebook group. Ominously, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said that “nothing makes me more angry than seeing people in our state getting ripped off,” and announced an investigation.
Piss off thousands of metal fans at your peril. Clipping from the Record-Journal of Meriden, Connecticut.
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