SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Whatever happened to KAABOO San Diego? And will the popular music festival ever come back?
The annual, multi-day concert event was cancelled last year due to the pandemic. Now, ticket holders are wondering if the plug got pulled on them as well.
For five years, the KAABOO music festival entertained fans at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, with top acts like REO Speedwagon, Dave Matthews Band, Duran Duran, and Sheryl Crow.
For 2020, the venue was moved to Petco Park downtown, before being abruptly cancelled because of the pandemic.
Hillcrest bartender Matthew Keough purchased a pair of early-bird KAABOO tickets for the three-day show in 2020, costing him about $500.
“It was going to be our first year going because it was downtown,” said Keough.
When the event was cancelled, Keough was given the option of a full refund, or he could keep the tickets and get two additional tickets for 2021 for free.
“So, we would actually be able to bring two more friends with us for free,” Keough said.
He waited and waited for the 2021 show to be announced, while still holding on to his tickets from last year. But the September 2021 show still has not materialized.
“They posted something on Instagram and Facebook saying something's coming. Get ready. And they turned off their comments and nobody could comment. Nothing's been announced, nothing is happening,” Keough said.
The KAABOO San Diego Facebook post said, the “highly anticipated return of KAABOO” would be “coming soon.”
News 8 reached out to Virgin Fest – which acquired KAABOO in 2019 – as well as its director, Jason Felts, but we received no response to multiple messages. Messages to the Virgin Group’s press email address also were not returned.
“I hope they announce something soon because they just really haven't. They left everybody in the dark. They ghosted the entire community,” said Keough.
Ticket holders who requested refunds at the time when the 2020 show was cancelled did receive their money back.
Now, almost a year later, no one is responding to people who decided to hold on to their tickets in anticipation of KAABOO 2021.
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