THE BALTIMORE SUN has reported that the 2011 MARYLAND DEATH FEST originally set to take place May 26-29, 2011 @ SONAR in Baltimore, Maryland is likely to change venue to Bourbon Street Ballroom (UNCONFIRMED) as SONAR (BALTIMORE, MARYLAND) announced yesterday that the venue will close its doors. There has been NO official announcement on WHERE the 2011 MARYLAND DEATH FEST will take place in the wake of Sonar's closing, but an announcement from MARYLAND DEATH FEST promoters is expected soon.
FROM MARYLAND DEATH FEST PROMOTERS:
- Sonar shut down. What will happen to MDF?
We just found out about that as well. We already have an alternative site for MDF, and if everything goes as planned, you will NOT need to change hotel plans. We expect to update our website with new venue information on Friday, May 6th.
FROM MDF FACEBOOK:
OK, so here it the latest. We have a couple of options on the table now for a venue, and we need to sort through the details today before deciding on one of them. Long story short, we aren't in a position to lose money by moving the fest, so please be patient a bit longer. In either scenario, it will be downtown, and your hotel reservations do not need to be changed.
We have a meeting tonight that should clear up a lot regarding the new fest site. We'll most likely be updating you on the new location tonight or tomorrow morning. Don't panic, and don't freak out about your hotel reservations. The location change will not be a huge difference at all.
Thank you for your patience while we sort through this mess. We're doing everything in our power to deliver another memorable MDF, and in 3 1/2 weeks, the party will commence. As of now, we expect to post new venue information either tomorrow night (Thursday), or on Friday.
MARYLAND DEATH FEST 2011 4/28/2011 UPDATE:
Alright, well, what were we thinking when we thought that no other bands would write us about cancelling?
DEATH BREATH has issued the following statement regarding their cancellation:
"Production difficulties with the complexity of the band being spread all over the world made an error in the schedule, so we simply had to cancel as we felt we couldn´t achieve a good performance. To do a one off show is actually more difficult than we thought. We are very sorry for this and wanna say thanks for understanding to the fans and the promoter."
Also, DEVOURMENT has cancelled, as a member in the band must attend to some family matters.
As a result of these cancellations, IN SOLITUDE (Sweden) will be making their first US appearance, and SKINLESS will be playing their last ever show, and it will be with the original line up. Please note that IN SOLITUDE will be playing on Saturday, and SKINLESS will be playing on Sunday.
We were planning to have the schedule ready to post by Friday, April 29th, but these changes messed that up a bit. We should have it finalized no later than early next week.
FROM THE BALTIMORE SUN:
The Maryland Deathfest is likely to be moved to Bourbon Street Ballroom downtown, a source said.
The heavy-metal festival, which has been held at Sonar for the past six years, was forced to move locations after Sonar abruptly shut down on Wednesday, leaving thousands of fans wondering what would happen to their tickets.
Tickets for the four-day, festival, which begins May 26, start at $40 for daily passes and $132 for the weekend passes.
About 2,000 people had bought tickets already, said Ryan Taylor, a promoter with the festival.
Sonar closed Wednesday afternoon over a business disagreement between McIntosh, his partners and the club’s founder Lonnie Fisher, who is now the executive director of the Baltimore Grand Prix. Its liquor license also expired May 1.
The shutdown left stranded at least 40 shows scheduled through September at the venue, including four, like Maryland Deathfest's first night, that had sold-out.
Deathfest's organizers found out about the club's closing at the same time as everyone else.
"We had no fair warning to prepare," Taylor said. He said organizers had to rush to come up with a back-up plan in the last 24 hours.
"It's a huge headache," he said.
Bourbon Street looked like the most promising venue to take up the festival because of its size. Taylor said organizers would meet with representatives from the club Thursday night, and that while a deal was likely, it had not been finalized. Dave Adams, Bourbon Street's manager could not be reached for comment.
Friday update: "It appears likely it will move" to Bourbon Street, club manager Dave Adams said. The club is able to take in the four-day festival, but it's up to festival organizers to make the final decision. Adams said the organizers would likely send out a confirmation press release at some point Friday.
Kevin Hock, a Bourbon Street promoter, wasn't aware of conversations, but he said it's likely because the reshuffling of shows has happened at a dizzying speed over the last day.
In the aftermath's of Sonar's shutdown, Bourbon Street has already taken up three shows from there, Hock said. The shows are Talib Kweli, who was scheduled for Wednesday; TheNEWDEAL on Friday; and Vains of Jenna on June 3.
Taylor said he didn't want to blame anyone for the club's end.
"We're not pointing fingers. We're just trying to deal with it accordingly. We don't have time for a blame game," he said.
Sonar's booking agents and staff have been updating fans on the status of different shows on twitter. A July 11 show by the band Hate Eternal was moved to Ottobar in Charles Village, and a May 21 show by bands Across Tundras, The Pilgrim, and others, was moved to the Hexagon.
Representatives for the Deftones did not know yet what would happen to the shows scheduled for May 16 and 17.
Already, a show Friday by the band Daytrader was cancelled. Dan McIntosh, Sonar's acting manager, said more cancellations are likely.
"We're holding out some level of hope that we can work out some of the shows and reschedule," he said.
But he noted that fans won't be refunded for shows that have been cancelled.
"Unfortunately, the business has been running in the negative for some time. Truthfully, there's not much money to divvy out at this point," he said. "I would hope the owners put some heavy thought into how they're going to refund not if they're going to refund."
Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-
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