WeFest, the renowned country music festival, is facing a wave of criticism as ticket holders were left waiting for hours due to an overselling debacle.
The event, once hailed for its star-studded lineup and lively atmosphere, took a disappointing turn as overselling, safety, and cleanliness concerns were brought to light, raising questions about the festival’s organization and oversight.
The country music star Morgan Wallen headlined the first day of WE Fest in Detroit Lakes on Thursday night to one of the largest crowds the festival has seen in recent years.
Wallen played his hits, including “Last Night,” “Up, Down,” and “More Than My Hometown,” to the crowd that responded by singing his own words right back to him at the top of their lungs.
However, before the country music officially started, WE Fest held its 40th Birthday Bash Wednesday, which featured a performance and dance party by the DJ trio Cheat Codes who seemed to have no problem getting the early-arrivers to the festival to raise their hands up and jump around at the Barn Stage.
Although the music went off without a hitch, for some getting into the venue was harder than they expected and for others transportation to and from the stage and camping areas was another issue.
VIPs Left Waiting & Overselling Woes
“Super upsetting to have paid so much money for VIP camping just to be parked in the back for Eagle and the generators they provided aren’t even working. We have to shuttle to the bowl because it’s such a long walk. We Fest has given zero!!!!! compensation to all of these people. It’s ridiculous,” said one WeFest attendee on the WeFest Buzz Facebook page.
The extended waiting times for VIPs were largely attributed to the apparent overselling of tickets by WeFest organizers.
With the festival site surpassing its capacity, chaos ensued at the entry points, leading to delays and a breakdown in crowd management.
Additionally, a number of vehicles have been towed away due to crowding and parking illegally on roads.
Safety and Cleanliness Concerns Unaddressed
A number of festival attendees expressed disappointment over the lack of maintenance and cleanliness of the festival facilities, adding to the frustration, tarnishing the overall festival experience.
“Anyone else notice the port a potties haven’t been wiped out and are filthy dirty”, shared by a WeFest goer.
“My daughter was there for 5.5 hours and she made it in at 10pm right before Morgan Wallen. She has a heart condition and needed water for hydration and all ems told her was find a concession stand, where she stood in line for another 30 minutes!!!! Very impressed for her first experience,” shared another attendee.
With the hopes of entry and other issues being addressed, the show must go on.
Mark Bjerke, general manager for WE Fest, said 40 years is a long time to keep a festival running and with the owners of the Soo Pass Ranch taking the reins of the operations in 2021, it’s finally starting to feel like a big family again.
“It’s an amazing place,” said Bjerke. “It’s like a family reunion for people. There’s people who have been coming here for five, ten years, a lot of new people. We’re back with new ownership and new management, really with a local focus, and with the great lineup we have here, we kind of feel like we’re back.”
He also stated they believe the total number of country music fans through the turnstiles could be double what the festival did last year, but they will have to wait until Saturday to see the final numbers.
“We’ve got a thousand plus employees and we’re double, almost, what we did last year,” he said. “And just scaling that, everything is kind of doubled, but also when you do that, you double the challenges too.”
Bjerke said their ownership group upgraded the Main Stage at the Soo Pass Ranch last year; the backstage Prancing Pony this year; and they have their eyes on additional maintenance and upgrade projects going forward as they prepare for the next 40 years in Becker County, just south of Detroit Lakes.