Days before the inaugural Day Trip music festival debuts July 3 and 4, concert producer Insomniac announced another venue change for the event, and the promoter promised to refund ticket holders after a permitting issue forced the festival out of Inglewood.
Day Trip will now happen at the NOS Event Center in San Bernardino, an often-used venue for Insomniac’s festivals that is more than 70 miles away from its most recently announced location at The Lot at Hollywood Park, part of the new SoFi Stadium complex.
Insomniac founder Pasquale Rotella took to Instagram late Tuesday, June 29, to explain to fans what happened about the venue falling through.
“Unfortunately, they were unaware and we were unaware that there are additional things that they need to get, special licenses, for an event that is unique like Day Trip. We found that out over the weekend and we were working over the weekend to try to turn things around and the time will not allow us to get it done,” Rotella said in the video.
The event, which was originally scheduled to take place at Pier 46 at the Los Angeles Waterfront in San Pedro was announced last year as a one-day festival and quickly sold out. Insomniac added a second day of music in late May, and last week, the promoter announced Day Trip would move to the Inglewood site and opened up more tickets for sale.
When reached for comment, The Lot at Hollywood Park referred questions about permitting to Rotella’s video.
Inglewood Mayor James Butts Jr. said the concert organizer applied for a special permit on June 22 to move the festival to SoFi Stadium. Inglewood tried to fast-track the event through a permit process that typically requires a minimum of three weeks’ notice, but the city’s permit and licensing committee eventually denied the request as the organizers were unable to meet the safety conditions for the permit, Butts said.
Insomniac had not submitted a medical plan to Los Angeles County Fire 21 days prior to the event as required, Butts stated.
During a June 23 safety meeting, city officials unexpectedly learned that Insomniac wanted to hold the event outdoors rather than inside the stadium.
“The City does not allow parking lot concerts next to residential neighborhoods,” Butts said in a statement.
The permit was rejected by the city’s permits and licenses committee on June 25 and SoFi was notified of the decision the same day, according to Butts.
“Unfortunately, Day Trip Festival is not going to be able to take place in L.A. County,” Rotella said in his Instagram video. “I’m as frustrated as all of you must be. It has not been as easy to come out of the pandemic and plan large-scale events on the West Coast and I think that my passion, at this point, is almost working against me and us.”
Rotella announced all current ticket holders would get a full refund. Fans in the area who still want to attend can bring their original tickets to NOS Event Center and will be admitted free of charge. Rotella said the lineup, which will feature multiple stages and performances by acts such as Chromeo, Diplo, Gene Farris, AC Slater, Doc Martin, Lauren Lane, Honeyluv, Sidepiece and more — was still intact.
Possibly the most surprising reveal was Rotella announcing that fans who traveled from afar would be reimbursed by Insomniac for non-refundable plane tickets and/or lodging. He also promised that all Day Trip ticket holders would be granted admission to any future Insomniac festival happening through the end of the year that isn’t sold out.
A spokesperson from Insomniac said ticket holders have been emailed a form to fill out regarding non-refundable travel reservations.
After the announcement, some fans expressed frustration via social media posts that the venue had changed multiple times or were unhappy about the new location, but others, such as 23-year-old Allen Cornejo of Riverside, had a more positive outlook.
“If anything, I was happy with the way he announced it and informed everybody about the incentives he’s going to give,” Cornejo said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. “It’s just kind of extraordinary.”
Cornejo said that he feels like he came out winning, not only because he will save gas money when he makes the shorter commute to attend on July 4, but also because he now has a free ticket to see all the artists he was excited about.
Rotella addressed negative feedback and fans suggesting he’s dumping his festivals to collect insurance money in the video posted Tuesday.
“There’s no insurance that will cover things like this and that’s not who I am or who we are,” he said.
Though Insomniac kept busy during the pandemic with its virtual raves, Park ‘N Rave drive-in concert series at NOS Event Center and popular Electric Mile drive-thru experience at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, the promoter has had a difficult time re-launching festivals following the lifting of COVID-19 mandates in multiple states. The promoter was forced to push its Electric Daisy Carnival, which was originally scheduled to happen in Las Vegas in May, to late October. NOS Event Center will also host Insomniac festivals Hard Summer July 31-Aug. 1 and Beyond Wonderland Aug. 27-28, the latter of which was rescheduled from June.
“I’m just really sorry that this has happened and I hope that the things that are being done will make it up to you,” Rotella said at the end of the video.
Staff writer Alex Groves contributed to this report.
