As was speculated by HEAVY earlier today, the Legion Music Fest will be pushed back until January 2017. In a move that was forced on them by poor pledge numbers, the fledgling festival has admitted that time constraints and the difficulty of locking in headline bands was all too much, too soon.
John Sankey said that the initial May 2016 date was set in response to the disappointment so many hard music fans faced once they received the news that there would be no Australian festival in 2016.
“We did everything in our power to make Legion happen this year but, given a couple of hurdles that we’ve had to face over the last few weeks, we made the positive decision that it’s in everyone’s best interest that we do this in a way that’s as sustainable as possible”, he said.
“Not to mention that the Australia Day weekend has always been home to Australia’s most successful and long running festivals and we love the idea of honoring that memory and establishing something that can stand the test of time”, he added.
Legion HQ have given a swag of reasons as to why the Festival will not work including: Having difficulty locking in venues and headline bands, council permits, the expense; given that some haven’t received their Soundwave refund yet. There was also the poor timing of the festival around Easter and more.
Individually, each is a valid reason to not begin this campaign in the first place. There’s been a lot of energy wasted and people have been let down once again. Let’s hope the punters stick by them in 2017 and Legion Part 2 is one of those rare sequels better than the original.
