Hardwell went on a fiery rant on stage at SAGA Festival in Romania about a lack of payment and production issues before canceling his set.
SAGA Festival is one of the newer experiences that has sprung up in Romania and has begun to turn heads with massive lineups. This year’s edition, which is currently taking place this weekend, continued that trend with announced artists including Hardwell, Rita Ora, RAVE, ARTBAT, James Hype, Armin van Buuren, Nicki Minaj, and more set to play. But on the first night of the festival, it seems there’s been a few bumps in the road as Hardwell abruptly canceled his set.
Videos that have surfaced on social media show the chaos that seemingly unfurled during Hardwell’s set. Many angles show multiple people behind the decks attempting to resolve a technical issue before Hardwell gets on the mic to talk to the crowd, going off on the production staff before announcing that he’s canceled his set.
“They didn’t pay me any fucking money to be here tonight, but I’m still here. I’m still here. I’m here. I’m fucking here. And everything is fucking shit. Nothing is working,” Hardwell said on stage at the festival. “Listen SAGA, if I’m here for you guys, I want to perform for you guys. The whole equipment, everything is letting me down. I can’t perform. It’s impossible for me to perform. The whole DJ booth is shit, it’s fucking shit. I’m so sorry, I have to cancel this show. And fuck SAGA Festival.”
SAGA Festival quickly responded to what Hardwell had to say by posting on their official social media channels. “Well, Hardwell, we’re sorry that Rita Ora, Sickick, Loreen, and all the DJs on five other stages got to play on the first day of SAGA and you didn’t,” they said. “The equipment traveled all the way from the Netherlands, just like you. The same set seems to be working perfectly fine for Will Sparks right now.”
The festival’s statement goes on to say that they would’ve resolved any technical issues quickly and that they’ve done everything they could to accommodate Hardwell’s requests, including agreed payments.
SAGA Festival will continue throughout the rest of the weekend with anticipated sets from Armin van Buuren, ARTBAT, Nicki Minaj, James Hype, and more.
Stay tuned for more on this developing story.
