Standon Calling 2024

[european_son]

Last year's forum action was bolted on to the 2022 thread, so I thought I'd start a proper one for this year.

Anyone already got their ticket? We got ours last year the Earlybird discount (it's pretty local and we've been going since 2021 with our kid, so being nearby is a big bonus regardless of who's playing).

Ticket prices have gone up a fair bit (though I suppose everything has). This time last couple of years we already had the headliners announced IIRC. They'e been promising an announcement "in the New Year", so I'm hoping for something soon.

The organisation is generally okay (I'll forgive them the 2021 rained off Sunday because that storm was BIBLICAL), though it does feel like a wee bit more investment/care here and there would make things a lot smoother, but hey, that's festivals for you.

It's a really fun festival, pretty family friendly and a good medium-sized event that's forced to be quite creative/forward-thinking in a lot of the lineup, because it's never going to get the biggest artists (along with an admittedly fair smattering of Festival Filler and nostalgia acts).

[LazyDavid]

This is 10/15 mins down the road from me but it's always clashed with Truck Festival (which I'm probably not going to this year), so will keep an eye on when the line up appears! Never been myself

[gfa]

always keep an eye on this, i live pretty nearby

I'm thinking of doing Truck this year though so likely won't be doing standon (unless truck's lineup is naff)

[european_son]

Some disquiet on the Standon Calling Locals FB group. Worries that with the late announcement and refund issues that the fest may not happen.

Organiser Alex has belatedly popped in today with this:

 

Hi everyone, thanks for your patience and apologies for the lack of communication from me on this page recently. We are working on the 2024 festival and will have some news for you in the next couple of weeks. If you have an outstanding customer service ticket or are awaiting a refund for anything relating to 2023’s festival, we’ll be coming back to you by the end of the month, and sincere apologies to anyone who has experienced a delay. Thanks for your ongoing support, speak soon. Very best, Alex

[hoils]

Hmmm; the way that statement is worded doesn't exactly fill me with confidence that everything is OK at Standon Towers.

[european_son]

Everything always seems a bit touch and go with Standon in my three years of going, but it's all seemed to come together more or less by festival time.

They're particularly bad at comms, and I don't just mean at festival time when getting a reply off their socials with queries is never gonna happen. It's not a matter of throwing money or any real resources at it, either. I'm sure he's a busy man, but Alex himself could tweet once a week in the off-season to keep people engaged and interested and build buzz.

They increasingly seem to rely on early ticket sales to keep the show on the road (selling them at the previous year's fest, pushing the tiers very hard, etc.) but don't seem to put the minimal effort into a few social posts between August and January to help that along. Maybe they're worried about posting because they always get replies from some disgruntled people looking for refunds - the wristband system isn't really perfect).

Then it comes to June and July and you can't move for paid Google ads all over the web to shift tickets in a hurry, and then they end up on seat filler services late in the day (which just encourages people to wait and is a vicious cycle).

As I'm there with a will-be-seven-year-old (who's been 4, 5 and 6 in our previous years of course) the lineup is less of an issue with us than many festival goers as I don't get to see bands all day like I used to in my teens and 20s and early 30s, but I understand that it's not the easiest fest to book (given the awkwardly medium fest size raising expectations but not having massive pull, its independence from Live Nation and Superstruct, etc.)

[AtomsForPizza]

There was something on Twitter the other week where Mark Watson said he still hadn't been paid for two festivals he did last summer. Judging by the replies, one of them was Standon Calling. I appreciate it's an independent festival but that's poor form and suggests all isn't well as has been suggested above 

[european_son]

Incredibly poor form as you say, and also worrying for the festival. Whether or not it goes ahead it never inspires confidence in any aspect when this sort of thing is happening.

[zahidf]

On 1/17/2024 at 2:30 PM, hoils said:

Hmmm; the way that statement is worded doesn't exactly fill me with confidence that everything is OK at Standon Towers.

They haven't paid the acts from 2023

 

 

 

 

[incident]

A comment on the Standon Calling facebook page:

Obviously if that's the case (and judging from the posts above it seems to be a part of pattern), there's no likely scenario they can go ahead this year unless they can find a large sudden injection of cash. Anyone buying a ticket or agreeing to work for them at this point is taking a huge risk.

[european_son]

1 hour ago, incident said:

A comment on the Standon Calling facebook page:

Obviously if that's the case (and judging from the posts above it seems to be a part of pattern), there's no likely scenario they can go ahead this year unless they can find a large sudden injection of cash. Anyone buying a ticket or agreeing to work for them at this point is taking a huge risk.

Yikes. This is very much me. Three tickets plus posh camping, bought last August when obviously none of this had yet come to light.

I'm pretty sure we put it on a credit card, so we should be protected if Standon don't pay us back, but it's all such a mess (and such a shame).

[incident]

13 hours ago, european_son said:

Yikes. This is very much me. Three tickets plus posh camping, bought last August when obviously none of this had yet come to light.

I'm pretty sure we put it on a credit card, so we should be protected if Standon don't pay us back, but it's all such a mess (and such a shame).

Using a Credit Card is definitely a good move, and one I'll probably use for all festivals going forward. Hopefully the S75 protection should make things a bit more open and shut (and faster/easier) in terms of getting the refund.

[european_son]

FWIW, organiser Alex on FB:

Hi all, if you have an outstanding customer service ticket or refund keep an eye out for a reply or refund over the next 48 hours. Thanks again for your patience. Alex

I've checked and yes we booked on credit card, so worst case scenario I'm not quite as stressed as I was.

[european_son]

Two weeks since the promise of some info in "a couple of weeks". Nothing new, bar this in a reply to a disgruntled customer

There were definitely issues with boutique this year. We didn’t do it any differently from previous years and were using the same contractors for amenities so it has taken quite a lot of time to get to the bottom of what went wrong. 

The main issue is that everything costs so much more now than in the old days you remember. If we are to keep the, number of stages etc that  we’ve always had we do have to grow and obviously that comes with growing pains and a loss of intimacy. 

Personally I think The time has come to try to find a balance between being big in some areas (main stage) and small and intimate in others but in a way that is affordable. It may means some sacrifices and scaling back but we have to protect the future viability of the festival.

I've got some sympathy, but the truth is those discussions, sacrifices and scaling back should happen i) after everyone's been paid from the previous year, and ii) arguably before you start taking money from festivalgoers for the next year's festival.

Still no really firm commitment 2024 is going ahead, or assurance it'll be anything like past Standons if it does. (Could they nix the Thursday night, or at least the bigger acts on that night for example?)

I may be naive but my understanding is given the size of acts Standon books, a handful of acts being nixed (or booked) isn't going to be the main thing that shifts the financial needle in either direction... it feels like it'd be all the other stuff regarding the site/infrastructure etc. So I suppose they'll likely drop the Cow Shed and/or the Dive Bar.

 

Edited January 31 by european_son

[european_son]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-68181127

Some performers and food vendors have complained they are still owed tens of thousands of pounds from a festival that took place in the summer.

Standon Calling was held in Hertfordshire in July with tickets now being sold online for next year's festival in 2024.

One catering business told the BBC they still had not seen their takings worth about £13,000.

Alex Trenchard, director of Standon Calling, apologised for the delay.

He said: "We apologise for the delay to a small number of payments from our 2023 festival.

"We are in the process of fulfilling these and contacting any remaining performers and suppliers."

 

[dpdp]

https://standon-calling.com/standon-calling-postponed-to-2025/

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the difficult decision to postpone the 18th edition of Standon Calling until 2025.

[incident]

Kinda as expected, though hopefully should mean refunds for anyone who has tickets.

I'm not sure the "the festival is too expensive to run, so if you roll over we'll give you a free ticket" model makes a lot of sense though.

[european_son]

1 minute ago, incident said:

Kinda as expected, though hopefully should mean refunds for anyone who has tickets.

I'm not sure the "the festival is too expensive to run, so if you roll over we'll give you a free ticket" model makes a lot of sense though.

I guess the money in the bank for a full 17 months at current interest rates and the guarantee of a ticket bought (or probably more as you have to keep the whole booking) for a festival most people will now (very fairly) be less inclined to buy a ticket for makes the equation worthwhile on their side.

Money in the bank for creditors now is worth a lot more than a potential add-on sale lost (you'd have to find someone who wasn't on your original booking to go with you).

With that side, I'm minded to cash out now tbqh. Too risky and too much bad vibes.

 

 

[european_son]

Lol, classic Standon.

 

All lead bookers will receive an email by Friday 9th February from the ticket agent they booked with outlining their options. This will include a closing date for refund requests. If you do not request a refund by this date, your booking will automatically rollover to 2025.

[incident]

To be very blunt about it - would say there's a good chance that the 2025 event doesn't happen either, and if it does then it will be massively cut back compared to previous years.

The statement is giving me deja vu from when Festival No 6 announced they were taking "a break".

[John L]

I’d certainly be requesting a refund pronto and hoping it turns up.

How is it going to be easier next year? It’s not is it unless the festival is massively scaled down. 
Agree with previous poster. Sadly this has all the makings of another one biting the dust.

[european_son]

18 minutes ago, John L said:

I’d certainly be requesting a refund pronto and hoping it turns up.

Yeah, there are some hopeful people talking about 2025 in the FB groups but I'm not locking up the money for another 17 months on a promise (and with no idea what exactly is going to be on offer then, anyway).

More than that, the trust has really fallen out of it. Stiffing the acts is bad enough, but taking advantage of the wristband payment system to stiff traders feels inexcusable.

It's notable - and disappointing - that's nothing been said about the 2023 debts in the statement. We're still being given a false picture in official channels.

So much of a festival is based on vibes, really, and with that out the window it's a lot to ask people to buy a ticket for something unknown a year and a half in the future.

I don't imagine it'll be back (though Alex has come back from more legally fraught trouble I suppose). By 2025 our kid will be eight, and I'll be happier doing festivals that bit further away from home, anyway.

EDIT: tldr if there wasn't unpaid acts and traders from 2023 I'd maybe consider rolling over. As is, I wont.

Edited February 8 by european_son

[WontGetFooledAgain]

I would like to say I'm surprised, but alas.....

Its all well an good winning best line up award, but it counts for nothing if you are running at a loss. I feel too many festivals are run like premier league teams, but alas not many festival have bottomless pockets to bail them out in bad years (although daddy is worth a few quid)

[european_son]

If you would still like to request a refund, instead of rolling over your ticket to 2025, please fill in the form below.

 

Once the refund request window closes on Friday 8th March 2024, all refunds will be processed within 30 days. Refunds will be processed back to the original card used for payment.

 

The refund process is "fill out a Google Form with two fields: email and booking code", which means your info is likely being chucked into a spreadsheet somewhere at their end that someone will go through manually.

They won't start processing refunds till the end of the window (Classic Standon, so another 30-60 days of your money in their account getting interest for an event that isn't happening), and if someone mis-pastes their booking code or whatever, by the time they start processing these requests the refund window will have closed.

[gfa]

If you didn't pay with a credit card i'd 100% request a refund

Not saying they will but many fests do a runner, especially ones who can't pay their suppliers

I know ticket money is meant to be ringfenced but sometimes they just can't refund everyone - its happened before