Organizers of the Wampus Cat Music Fest — originally scheduled for this weekend but postponed recently because of expected bad weather — announced the three-day concert event near Sanford will be held Aug. 5-7.
Indie On Air CFO Paul Surowiec told followers on Facebook Sunday the festival — which was to feature big-name rock and country acts like Everclear, Thompson Square, Lit and Sister Hazel — that the ominous forecast was the reason for the decision. Indie On Air founder and CEO Jeff Popka confirmed to The Rant on Monday that weather and travel plans were the reasons for the postponement.
“We had to make the call early so people traveling could cancel those plans,” Popka said. “It was not just because of the forecast for the days of the fest. It was also because of what was going to hit [last weekend]. Plus calls for rain during the week. The stages were set to be built on Wednesday. That was a huge factor.”
The concert was to feature 90-plus bands over the three-day period at Gross Farms II, a massive stretch of farmland off Rosser Pittman Road near the Lee-Harnett county line, south of Broadway.
Current forecasts call for a 60-percent chance of thunderstorms in the area Friday night and a 50-percent chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms on Saturday. Rain chances were greater for those days when the announcement was made on Sunday, but the current forecast calls for over a half of an inch of rain over the two-day period.
The August announcement did not include which bands are expected to return. Everclear will be in the midst of its 25th anniversary tour during that time, though the band will be in Kannapolis, North Carolina, on Aug. 6 (so a Sanford show isn’t unrealistic). Lit is scheduled to be in Tennessee and Georgia the following weekend, but has no tour dates that weekend. Thompson Square has not listed tour dates in August, and Sister Hazel has South Carolina dates scheduled for late August.
“We want to retain all the acts we can, but it’s impossible for us to answer who will be able to play until we can figure out the new dates,” Popka said. “There are a lot of logistics to refigure.”
For those who have purchased tickets and cannot make the new dates, Popka said a refund option will be made available. And for those who can attend in August, “free upgrades or other significant awards” will be made available.
That’s true can’t wait.
Are we really shocked that a festival of scrub artists from the 90s was cancelled and the promoters filed bankruptcy? I find it hilarious. The “bad weather” postponement should have been an indication that the owners of Gross Farm and the promoters we’re full of sh*t. Go to Bonnaroo or Coachella or Lollapalooza. You’ll have more fun with better bands and people 😂