A couple weeks ago, it was reported by number of Simple Plan fans that the promoter of the MusiFest festival in Rawdon, Canada, where Simple Plan were scheduled to perform on August 13th, was contacting them via Facebook messages and offering tickets to a “VIP party” with the band. Chuck stated on Twitter that this VIP was a sham and discouraged their fans from buying any of these tickets and not attending any such party, as it has never been approved by them.
Problems with the promoter however didn’t end there. According to the article posted by L’action, communication with Dany Mayer (the promoter of Musifest in Rawdon) has been shady since the beginning of the negotiations between the agency that represents Simple Plan and the festival. Various uncertainties were tied to the event – such as that no formal contract has been signed to ensure the Ski Montcalm resort as the location of the festival. The article also states there was a financial dispute between the promoter and the band’s agency, where barely a third of the amount of money the two parties agreed upon for Simple Plan’s performance has been received. The agency as well as the Ski Montcalm resort have also apparently not been able to get in touch with the promoters for weeks now, saing: ‘Communication is virtually non-existent with him.’. A police investigation is now to follow.
With all these issues with the promoter in mind, the band had to make the tough decision to completely pull out of the event and cancel their performance. This is a very rare occurence as Simple Plan do not cancel their concerts lightly, but only in very serious cases. The band has not yet commented on this cancelation on social media, but the date of the festival has disappeared from their official website, as well as from recently published online posters with the list of all upcoming Simple Plan dates.
As of right now, it is unsure whether the whole festival is being canceled or just Simple Plan’s performance. Nevertheless, Simple Plan’s agency apparently stated that all spectators will be refunded. The Cultural Center of Joliette should get in touch with each customer and make the repayment by August 5th. However, the ticket office has no responsibility towards customers who have purchased their tickets via other businesses or people.