Last summer, bands like Alabama Shakes, Trey Anastasio Band, ODESZA and more flocked to Buena Vista, Colorado for the inaugural Vertex Festival. The event was an all-around success, championed by Madison House Presents and attended by thousands of local music fans. Unfortunately, it looks like the festival will not be happening next year, thanks in part to the slowness of the local government to reissue permits.
A new Denver Post feature details the full situation. According to their report, the permits for Vertex 2017 were just passed, pushing Madison House “well past original planning timelines.” That was mentioned in a statement released by Vertex, which says:
“The recent approval of the permit for Vertex in 2017 is much appreciated, and displays the collective intentions to discover a great path forward. Buena Vista’s relationship with a world-class festival has amazing potential. Rushing forward could compromise the quality of the festival and is not in the best interest of Buena Vista or Vertex. We look forward to ongoing productive discussions with the community so that we can best plan the dream of what Vertex can become.”
Their statement did leave room for the festival to potentially return in the future, much like Madison House Presents did when they took a year off to rebrand Rothbury as Electric Forest. However, numerous problems – including noise complaints and subsequent noise limitations – thwarted their ability to put on the festival properly. It will be interesting to see what happens to Vertex in the future, but unfortunately this report definitely puts an end to the festival’s return in 2017.