Texas Eclipse Festival canceled hours before solar eclipse draws comparisons to Fyre Fest

Texas Eclipse, a five-day music festival that kicked off last Friday and was centered around today’s (April 8) solar eclipse, has been canceled due to a “severe weather warning.”

Organizers say there are risks of high winds, tornadic activity, large hail and thunderstorms later today, including during the eclipse.

Click here for live updates on today’s solar eclipse.

Before the abrupt cancellation, participants on social media were already calling it “the worst camping experience ever” and claiming that “the Texas eclipse is turning into a Fyre (Festival) situation.”

The Fyre Festival was a “luxury music festival” held in the Bahamas in 2017 that turned into a notorious disaster, collapsing into chaos after food, security and accommodation issues emerged. It was the subject of two documentaries released on Hulu and Netflix in 2019.

Hundreds of electronic music groups had been scheduled to perform at the Texas Eclipse at Reveille Ranch in Burnet County, but organizers Disco Donnie Presents say that after discussions with Burnet Country officials, local security agencies and the National Weather Service, they “agreed to end the festival today in a calm and orderly manner.”

All performances scheduled for today and tomorrow have been canceled.

On Reddit, one participant wrote that the cancellation read: “Karma for all of Disco Donnie’s lies and broken promises and lack of organization and accountability.”

Another claimed that: “artists have been turned away and those left have no place to sleep” and criticized the lack of signage between campsites and the festival, which meant “people get lost on a journey of 3 km. hiking”.

The cancellation of the festival came just hours before the solar eclipse. Organizers said in a statement that: “Guests can stay for the eclipse as long as they are packed and ready to leave after totality. These guidelines may change depending on the weather.

Another Reddit user described Texas Eclipse as “hell on Earth” and told Disco Donnie: “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

In a lengthy message, they claimed the festival was over capacity, poorly lit and lacking medical staff.

“Honestly, I am baffled at how mismanaged, mismanaged and oversold a festival can be,” they wrote. “the NECESSITIES that a festival should have for the safety of its participants have NOT been met. »

Another complained about exorbitant food prices. “$66 for a pizza!? $30 for toddlers? F*** that,” they wrote. “It’s just nasty now. I will never attend another festival produced by DD.

Attendees were informed that they “will receive an email with a partial refund policy” in light of the cancellation.

The independent has contacted Disco Donnie Presents for comment.

Across North America, millions of spectators are expected to try to catch a glimpse of today’s celestial phenomenon.