Ravers, rap fans and hardcore kids gathered on Oct. 25 to see their favorite artists come out for a big show near the Warehouse District in Phoenix. They were excited for Arizona's newest counter-culture festival, One Big Party.
At 11 a.m., doors were set to open, and this highly anticipated festival was about to become a reality.
By 1 p.m., crowds became restless as a small delay became a multiple-hour wait in the heat. The gates eventually opened to reveal a dirt plot and a warehouse. Fans trickled in to a slew of problems: missing artists, delayed set times, technical errors and problematic security that tainted their festival experience.
Expectations
One Big Party had guests anticipating its arrival for months. The lineup of the event included over 50 artists like Yung Lean, Nettspend and Current Joys; the festival hoped to appeal to its audience with its variety, including many local and independent artists.
"When this flyer went out, everyone involved with the festival was flexing the s--- out of it," Kameron Salek, who operates an agency called Bandit Booking that had three artists at the festival, said. "Everyone was like, 'Look at this cool a-- underground festival, the first of its kind.'"
Max Diaz, a rock artist based out of Houston who performed at One Big Party, said that the event had components for it to be great, such as vendors and people who were passionate about it. But, behind the scenes, he said, was a different story.
In the days leading up to the festival, attendees and artists began to see cracks in I Am HYPE Entertainment's promises for the event.
Headliner
Allan Brown, a sophomore studying music learning and teaching, said that he only went to One Big Party because he was given a free ticket near the Memorial Union.
"So many people wanted to refund their tickets after one of the headliners dropped out that they just wanted to try and get a decent crowd anyway they could," Brown said.
Yung Lean, One Big Party's original headliner, dropped out of the festival in the week leading up to the show.
In a statement on Instagram Stories, Yung Lean's record label World Affairs AB said the festival failed to confirm "his performance and the terms of the show deal." After scrambling to find another headliner, it was announced that Nettspend would take his place despite playing a cut-down set.
Fans expressed confusion and anger after Nettspend only performed three songs, said Madison Reed, a freshman studying fashion merchandising.
"It's disappointing in any circumstance, when you're promised somebody's going to perform, and you really like them," Reed said.
I Am HYPE Entertainment did not respond to multiple requests for comment via phone, email and social media. The State Press reached out to One Big Party via the email listed on its website, and did not receive a response.
Equipment
Poor sound quality ruined the listening experience for Reed and other attendees.
From a performer's perspective, Diaz reported problems with both the mics and backing tracks. These issues led to him being unable to hear himself well during his first couple of songs.
"It was egregiously difficult to get anyone on site to do their job," Salek said.
He also said it reached the point where he took some responsibility for setting up and running his bands' production.
Salek said that the festival's production was largely run by people like him who stepped up right before the festival. Between the confused workers and the lack of direction, Salek said everyone was left in the dark all day.
"I don't think there was a single professional there besides the musicians," Salek said.
Artist treatment
Upon arriving, Diaz said that he received little hospitality or accommodations as a performer.
"I was backstage the whole day, in and out, and there was no food back there for anyone," Salek said. "There was, at one moment in the morning, two liters of Baja Blast Mountain Dew and a bushel of bananas."
Salek said that he struggled to find people who could write his artists' checks, with him trying to find the organizers after they evaded his attempts to collect payment for hours.
Salek described his efforts to receive payment as a "wild goose chase" during the event that lasted for hours. Salek said he received payments in portions through Zelle, and said that the organizers of the event weren't even sure how much the talent was supposed to be paid.
He said his artists were some of the lucky ones and were able to get paid because they had an agent on site advocating for them – something not all independent artists have.
Security and safety hazards
One Big Party was hosted at a venue in downtown Phoenix, 9th & Jackson, which Reed described as the back of a warehouse, with trash strewn across the ground and dust kicked up by crowds.
Salek was more concerned with safety hazards. He said that there was a lack of fire exits, nothing was clearly labeled, there were few bathrooms and no water stations.
In the face of intense backlash, One Big Party deactivated its Instagram. Most users have criticized the festival for its aggressive security team.
Videos posted by Instagram users @cross.kristoff, @street.outlets and @_blaireproject depict someone being beaten by three security guards, then carried away.
Brown said security did not scan his ticket, while Diaz and Salek both expressed concerns over the presence of firearms.
"They had security there, but I don't really know what they were doing," Brown said. "I didn't see them checking people's bags as they were going in."
9th & Jackson did not respond to multiple requests for comment via phone and email.
Poor planning
Salek said the main form of communication between the organizers and artists was an Instagram group chat.
Upon arriving at the venue on the morning of the festival, Salek and his artists found that two of the three stages had not been set up yet. Salek said that one of his artists, some promoters and others on site jumped in to build the stages on time, which quickly became a safety hazard as they were "eyeballing" heavy gear.
The unready stages led to the two-hour delay in the doors opening, according to Salek.
Aftermath
The conversation on social media reflected the angry sentiments, with some calling it "One Big Scam" as well as crowds chanting it in between sets at the festival. Brown said nearly every post on social media he's seen about the experience was negative.
Reed said that the festival's failure could taint Phoenix's reputation among concert goers.
"The people who suffer from this are some of the most independent folks in the industry, whether that be the musicians or the promoters or the agents," Salek said. "Everybody who really was duped and suffered are the people who have the odds most stacked against them."
Edited by Kasturi Tale, George Headley, Henry Smardo, Sophia Braccio and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at ajanusee@asu.edu and follow @lexijanusee on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Lexi Janusee is in her first semester with the State Press. She is a freshman studying Journalism and Mass Communications with a minor in Theatre. Lexi also works for Blaze Radio, and is an on-air host for Open Mic.
