“Robbed”: Thousands Of Punters Are Demanding Refunds For ‘Disastrous’ RnB Fridays In Melbourne
"Couldn't hear a word being sung by the artists, only echo and bass."
Dissatisfied punters have flooded to Facebook to demand refunds and voice their disappointment about Melbourne’s leg of RnB Fridays Live Festival, citing terrible sound and visuals, long-wait lines for food/drinks and bathrooms, no-shows from artists and unsafe conditions.
The festival took over Marvel Stadiums this past Saturday, boasting a line-up that featured RnB heavyweights Usher, Salt ‘N’ Pepa, Lil Jon, Eve, Ginuwine and Estelle, among others. It was created off the back of Fox FM’s RnB Friday’s Live radio show, and organised with Frontier Touring.
As reported by triple j’s Hack, attendee Melissa Richardson created a public Facebook group ‘RnB live Melbourne robbed us… refund our money now‘ while still at the 50,000 person event. As of writing, 2,800 members have joined, many to vent and post their own experiences — the main complaint was the sound.
“Sound was absolutely fucked. Heaps of bounce back/echo/distortion,” wrote one.
“Horrendous sound,” wrote another. “Couldn’t hear a word being sung by the artists, only echo and bass. Left during salt and pepper who I have wanted to see since I was very young.”
In one post, an attendee compares video of the sound between RnB Friday’s and Taylor Swift’s concert at the same venue weeks ago: the quality dip is noticeable.
It wasn’t just the acts, either: concert goers say they couldn’t even hear host Ash London. It was an added insult to injury to London, as promotional material sold Fatman Scoop as the night’s MC.
Sound issues were addressed on the night, but according to the group only became slightly better across the six-hour event.
Richardson has since made a Change.org petition demanding a refund. The petition compiles the group’s complaints, including 40-minute waits for drinks, unresponsive security guards, lack of crowd control and no free water on offer. In addition, the toilets were called “disgusting” — there are (very gross) photos of this in the group, plus women lining up to use male bathrooms against the long-lines. Some criticised their partial view of the stage.
“Overall, I am appalled by what I had to experience and can only describe it as the worst concert I’ve ever been to,” the petition reads. “I feel my rights as a patron were violated and I am entitled to a full refund.”
“I feel my rights as a patron were violated and I am entitled to a full refund.”
In a statement to Hack, the event’s organisers have said they are addressing complaints, and asked for feedback and complaints to be sent to feedback [at] rnbfridayslive.com, which the petition is.
“RNB Fridays Live event on Saturday night was hugely popular with over 50,000 people attending,” they told Hack. “While some of the concerns raised were addressed on the night, we understand that some of our guests remain dissatisfied by their experience.”
“We take patron comments seriously and are following up all concerns regarding Saturdays event.”
Rnb Fridays Live wraps up this week with shows in Brisbane and Sydney this Friday and Saturday. Music Junkee has reached out to promoters for comment.