Cancelled Roxodus Fest Leaves Many Unanswered Questions

By FYI Staff

After a flurry of press reports suggesting that the upcoming Roxodus fest was in jeopardy, an official press release from the organisers confirming the cancellation was issued July 3. The event had been set for July 11-14 at the Edenvale Airport Grounds north of Toronto.

Aerosmith was to have been the anchor headliner, and other acts included Kid Rock, Blondie, Alice Cooper, Nickelback, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Cheap Trick, Peter Frampton, Billy Idol, Matthew Good, Big Wreck, Honeymoon Suite, I Mother Earth, Headpins, Saga, Prism, Lee Aaron, and Strange Advance.

Speculation about what triggered the cancellation is mounting, as is the anxiety that ticketholders have about refunds, and many businesses in the area, including hotels, are out of pocket resulting from the cancellation.

So far, the promoters have maintained silence since the press release was issued Wednesday. One live music insider speculates that the team behind the event could be out of pocket by as much as $8M spent on up-front payments to the mainstay acts and infrastructure costs. FYI attempted to reach agents at two of Canada’s leading booking agencies to find out if any or all of the Canadians on the bill had received pre-payment fees in front of the event, but none was available to answer the question yesterday.

What follows is a CTV TV news report from yesterday and below it the entire press release issued by the event organizers.

After a flurry of press reports suggesting that the upcoming Roxodus fest was in jeopardy, an official press release from the organisers confirming the cancellation was issued this morning (July 3). The event had been set for July 11-14 at the Edenvale Airport Grounds north of Toronto.

The release reads as follows:

ROXODUS Music Festival
Clearview Township, Ontario
 

TORONTO – July 3, 2019 Due to heavy rains in the Spring of 2019 the property at Edenvale Airport, Clearview Township will not be ready in time to accommodate large crowds and performance stages for the Roxodus Music Festival that was scheduled for July 11 - July 14, 2019. 

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the cancellation of Roxodus Music Festival this year.” said Fab Loranger, Principal at MF Live Inc. “Our team has worked tirelessly to find a solution in which the show can go on but unfortunately we could not make it happen this year. Our dream of producing a ‘once in a lifetime experience’ has been put on hold as we take the time to nurture our venue. We sincerely thank all of our artists, sponsors, partners, and neighbours who have supported us from the very beginning. The embrace from our community has meant the world to us and we hope to one day see our dream come to life.” 

Producers of the Festival wish to thank the community and Township of Clearview for its tremendous support over the past year. 

Information about ticket refunds will be released shortly.