Venue Owner Pushes Back Against Evolutions Festival’s Postponement Claims

Sugar Mountain Performing Arts Center has pushed back against Evolutions Festival, claiming that it has permits in place and that the organizers stopped communicating over the past two weeks.

Evolutions Festival announced that this year’s edition would be postponed earlier this week due to its venue, Sugar Mountain Performing Arts Center, failing to obtain the proper permits for it to take place. Today, it seems as if the postponement wasn’t as clear-cut as originally framed after the venue’s owner took to social media to share his side of the story.

Last night, Jeremy Lane, the owner-operator of Sugar Mountain Performing Arts Center, posted in the “Evolutionaries” Facebook Group, which is centered on connecting the festival’s attendees with each other. In the post, he shared his side of the story, detailing the timeline from first being contacted by Evolutions Festival co-founder Michael Brown to the recent, seemingly sudden announcement.

Lane claims that he had conducted due diligence prior to working with Evolutions Festival and wanted to ensure that the event at Sugar Mountain would adhere to contractual guidelines. “Our event requires involvement of over 150 individuals, including security, medical, and sanitation personnel, working throughout the weekend,” Lane shared. “None of these individuals received signed contracts, funding, or communication from Michael Brown or the Evolutions team within the last two weeks.”

With only 24 hours to load in and seven days until the gates opened, essential elements such as proof of insurance and hold harmless agreements were not provided. Despite my repeated requests for documentation, the response from Evolutions was that they were forced to cancel due to our alleged negligence.
Jeremy Lane

According to Lane, Sugar Mountain holds a standing special use permit, which allows them to host events larger than any previous edition of Evolution Festival. This permit was approved in 2020 and remains valid indefinitely, eliminating the need for new permits. Additionally, any further requirements would be the responsibility of Evolutions Festival per the contract.

My team and I at Sugar Mountain worked diligently to implement the infrastructure requested by Evolutions, causing a large financial investment and immense physical effort. As a father of five wonderful daughters, I can attest that this endeavor consumed our entire summer. I worked tirelessly through the night and every weekend to ensure that our first hosted event would be nothing short of magical, safe, and enjoyable for our new Evolutions community.
Jeremy Lane

Jeremy Lane closed his statement by stating that Sugar Mountain will implement legal safeguards in its contract to protect future attendees from event promoters. He also urged those who had purchased passes to contact the New York State Attorney General if they request a refund and do not receive it.

Read the full post on Facebook: