Dear St. Louis,
We are sad to announce that LouFest 2018 has been cancelled. We know this is a great
disappointment to many and that there has been wide speculation around our event. We want
to share what’s been going on directly with you.First, and as is usually the case when things like this happen, LouFest had several financial
hurdles. The loss of two of the event’s top sponsors, scheduling and contract issues with major
artists, and existing debt from previous events have all put immense pressure on the balance
sheet.Overcoming those setbacks while trying to grow the Fest has been a challenge, one that
LouFest was on target to meet until a bit of unfortunately timed media coverage caused many
of our vendors and artists to demand up-front payment just days before gates were set to
open. LouFest simply couldn’t make that happen.Second, the fickle St. Louis weather has made us extremely nervous. 2018 pre-sale ticket
volume has been fantastic but the festival does rely on walkups to be financially successful. We
know first-hand that a rain-soaked weekend like our event experienced in 2016 would both kill
that traffic and do physical harm to Forest Park. We feel it would be irresponsible to continue
to invest in an event that might not be able to realize its exceptional potential.Although we don’t currently have the funds to issue refunds, the exceptional festival ticketing
company we selected, Front Gate Tickets, owned by Live Nation and Ticketmaster, will be
stepping up to refund all fans in full while we work to repay our debts.We want to recognize the sponsors, vendors, partners, and fantastic team members who have
been working around the clock in support of LouFest 2018. Producing this event has been a
labor of love for our family and the staff – we see it as our gift to our music-loving city.It has been thrilling to bring so much joy to fans, recognition to St. Louis, a spotlight to its
artists, and an estimated $8 million in revenue to the region each year. For that, we will always
be proud.Mike Van Hee – Managing Partner
Listen Live Entertainment
LouFest Cancelled
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