The hip-hop heavy Day N Vegas festival was canceled on Friday (June 1) due to poor ticket sales, making the event financially unsustainable, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Promoter Goldenvoice knew there was an issue the day after tickets went on sale, June 10, sources tell Billboard. Ticket sales simply did not meet the sales goal that day, or the days that followed. By canceling Friday, with the start of the festival still more than 60 days away, AEG only has to pay 50% of the artist fee — a compromise that was reached with the major talent agencies last year amid touring’s return from the pandemic.
Day N Vegas’ disappointing ticket sales came as a surprise for many since it was Travis Scott‘s first concert since the disastrous Astroworld festival in Houston last November. Plus, the bill featured other heavyweights such as SZA, J. Cole, Playboi Carti, 21 Savage, Baby Keem and Summer Walker. Sources close to the concert promoter blame the location and time of the Day N Vegas, being held on Labor Day Weekend in Las Vegas, which is historically one of the hottest weekends of the month. In 2010 and 2021, Day in Vegas was held in November when the weather is considerably cooler.
Still, the drop in sales came as a surprise for many after the success of the Day N Vegas in 2019, featuring Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, J. Cole, Juice WRLD, Tyler, the Creator and Lil Baby.
Across the board, ticket sales are slowing for festivals in the second half of 2022 across the country. The Rolling Loud festival in Miami, July 22-24, which includes headliners Kendrick Lamar, Ye and Future hasn’t sold out yet either.
“There are a lot festivals out there right now and it seems like only those first festivals to go on sale for their sound or genre are the ones that sell out, but everything else that follows has struggled,” one source following the festival space tells Billboard. “It seems like the consumer spent most of the festival money for the year and unless it’s already on sale, there’s not much money left for anything else.”