TVD Live: Sacred Rose Festival at SeatGeek Stadium, 8/28

It’s the final day of the first ever Sacred Rose Festival. There’s a stacked lineup and I’m eager to see how the day will play out.

I enter the gates and shortly after it’s announced that the grounds must evacuate as the winds are too high. The music has been put on pause until further notice. After a couple of hours, we get the all clear to come back in and proceed with the schedule as it was originally posted. However, The Canopy stage suffered some damage due to the winds, so they keep this closed while they work on it.

Unfortunately a few sets were skipped and several others were shortened. I caught The Infamous Stringdusters featuring Molly Tuttle, who were so excited to get back on stage and jam out with the eager crowd. I raced over to catch a bit of Hiatus Kaiyote, a soul band from Australia. I’m so excited that they were able to play because so many fans in the front row were emotional during their set, overcome with happiness as they belted out the lyrics to their favorite songs.

The Canopy is given the all clear to reopen, and rockers Dawes take the stage. Their set was unfortunately cut short as lightning has been spotted in the area. We are once again asked to evacuate and await further instructions. While their set was short, Dawes made the few songs they had count. They must have mustered up even more passion during the first weather delay and left all their emotions out on the stage. This set would be hard to top.

After another hour of waiting, we are let back in the park. Unfortunately during the time they were setting up the stages, the lightning came back even closer. The festival organizers had to make the tough call to cancel the rest of the night and ask everyone to go home.

It’s unfortunate that this had to happen during this festival’s first year of existence, as it’s sure to leave a sour taste in some attendee’s mouths. At the end of the day, safety is the number one priority, and if the festival organizers felt they couldn’t keep the crowd and the performers 100% safe, it is the best decision to pull the plug and end the night early. Music was still enjoyed and good times were still had. Looking forward to seeing what next year brings.