After Curveball‘s last-minute cancelation on Thursday, Phish fans globally were left reeling. However, today, the band has issued an announcement about the cancelation of their eleventh music festival, offering more details on refunds and how they plan to make it up to fans.
The statement, which can be read below or on Phish’s website, begins by thanking Phish’s tight-knit community of fans, noting that they “deeply appreciate” fans for “understanding and for making the best of a difficult situation” and that the organization and band realizes “the commitment one makes in attending an event like this.” After also thanking artists, crew, vendors, volunteers, and the rest of the festival’s staff, the group also sends love and appreciation to residents around Watkins Glen for their hospitality.
For those who were planning on going to Curveball, the band will be offering full refunds for all tickets (including vehicle, travel, and rental packages), through the official ticket provider, Front Gate Tickets, with refunds including tickets’ service fees, and shipping costs. The band also notes that Curveball ticket holders will also be able to redeem the code on their wristbands at livephish.com/redeem, which will allow fans to webcast for free all three nights of Phish’s summer-closing run at Dick’s Sporting Good Park in Colorado over Labor Day Weekend.
Finally, the band turns its eye to those who will continue to be affected by the devastating flooding that happened in the areas around Watkins Glen. Reminding fans that the weather “wreaked havoc across a 14 county area,” Phish has also announced that it will be launching a Curveball merchandise story very soon, with all proceeds going toward flood relief and recovery. As noted the band, the store will have t-shirts, posters, and Nalgene water bottles, with Curveball ticket holders gaining first access to the store once it’s live.
You can read the full statement from the band below.
We’re all still reeling from the effects of the Curveball cancellation, and we know you are as well. We understand the commitment one makes in attending an event like this: from the logistical planning, to the time taken off from work, to the significant expense incurred that cannot be recovered (beyond the cost of tickets — see below re: refunds). We deeply appreciate you, our fan community, for your understanding and for making the best of a difficult situation. We want to recognize artists, crew, vendors, volunteers and everyone who had been working on the festival, some for months in advance, to share their talents with you. Additionally, we want to send our appreciation and support to the people of Watkins Glen who welcomed us and are now themselves dealing with the effects of the flooding in their homes and businesses.
As the festival team continues to address the Curveball we’ve all been thrown, we want to update you on a few things that we’re working on and we will send further details once they’ve been finalized.
Refunds: Everyone who purchased wristbands, vehicle passes, travel or rental packages via the official ticketing provider (Front Gate Tickets) will receive a full refund of ticket price, service fees, and shipping automatically. Refunds will go back to the original buyer’s credit card account. We appreciate your patience while we work through this process. Anyone who purchased on secondary markets or did person-to-person trades/sales should seek a refund at their point of purchase.
Dick’s Webcasts: Starting tomorrow, all Curveball ticket holders will be able to redeem the code on their wristbands at livephish.com/redeem to watch the webcast of all three shows at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO over Labor Day Weekend.
Merchandise: The severe flooding in the region didn’t only affect us. It wreaked havoc across a 14 county area. We will be a launching a Curveball merchandise store very soon and donating the proceeds to flood relief and recovery. The store will include Curveball t-shirts, LE posters and other items (including the Nalgene water bottles intended for our CurveWater program). Curveball ticket holders will have first access to the store once live.