Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain’s ticketing platform promised refunds within 5-10 business days over two weeks ago.
When Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain called off its 2024 event late last month, ticket holders received emails promising that refunds for what they spent on their tickets would arrive between 5-10 business days. That time frame has now ended with many still waiting for the money to hit their accounts, and the festival that takes place in Ozark, Arkansas, appears to have taken some of its social media pages offline.
Emails sent out to ticket holders from PromoTix on April 29 outline what package each buyer purchased, and what they paid for it. “You should expect to see the funds refunded to your payment method in 5-10 business days,” it reads. PromoTix CEO Will Royall is also the chairman and executive producer of Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain.
Some would-be attendees have reported receiving their refunds, but others say that they’re still waiting. Some have voiced concern over whether their refunds are actually coming as Backwoods appears to have deactivated its Facebook and Instagram accounts. At the time of writing, the festival’s X and YouTube pages still appear to be active.
“I paid with a debit card so am I just SOL?” wrote one online commentator. “I contacted my bank but man I am devastated. Life has hit me hard lately & I was relying on that refund to help get me by. This is actually sickening. We were all robbed.”
Another speculated, “I paid for a vendor spot … This year feels like it was a scam to get money out of people knowing full well they didn’t have the capital or interest to maintain the festival.”
Meanwhile, a member of Manifest Green — a group that would have been responsible for implementing environmental initiatives on site — said that members of the collective all received their refunds. “Grateful they didn’t fuck over the Green team,” they wrote on social media. “They treated us with respect and paid us on time. My heart goes out to everyone effected by this chaos.”
Others have advised ticket holders to dispute the charges with their banks. Indeed, federal law protects buyers when the merchant has failed to uphold their end of a transaction.
The lineup for this year’s edition of Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain was announced in March and included artists like Illenium, Opiuo, and Tycho. Organizers cited “rising production costs, labor, and overall business expenses, coupled with a change in consumer buying patterns and economic conditions post COVID” as having contributed t their decision to cancel.
Backwoods at Mulberry Mountain did not respond to EDM Identity’s request for comment.
