Good Vibes Festival 2023 cancellation: How singers and fans made the best of a bad situation
From performing in hotel bars to ordering food from affected vendors.
The Kid Laroi performs at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in California. (Photo: AP/Amy Harris)
Following the cancellation of the Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia over The 1975 singer Matty Healy's same-sex kiss onstage, many festival-goers were left with bad vibes. The music festival was slated to run for three days, from Jul 21 to 23. Given that The 1975's set was on the first night of the festival, its cancellation meant that audiences were forced to miss out on the remaining two days where artists like The Strokes and DPR Ian were supposed to perform.
However, not all hope was lost during the weekend.
Singers, vendors and fans did their part to spread good vibes to those affected by the festival's cancellation.
Australian singer The Kid Laroi was slated to headline the second day of the Good Vibes Festival on Jul 22. However, he only found out about the festival's fate upon touching down in Malaysia. In a series of Instagram stories, The Kid Laroi then apologised to Malaysian fans and hinted that he would perform at his hotel bar.
Soon, fans gathered at Sama-Sama Hotel's bar as the singer serenaded them with hits such as Stay, Without You and Thousand Miles.
The singer's actions have won him praise from the online community for putting fans first.
Besides fans, vendors were also heavily affected by the Good Vibes Festival's cancellation as they were forced to clear their inventory before their food started to spoil. The owner of Sausage Sizzle Malaysia uploaded a TikTok video, imploring authorities to reconsider their decision of cancelling the festival. He shared that he had spent at least RM $15,000 (S$4,360) on food stocks alone, not including rental and manpower costs and accommodation.
Hours after the video became viral, fans showed their support for Sausage Sizzle Malaysia by ordering their food on Grab and visiting their outlets across Malaysia.
A vendor assistant for food vendor Big Boss HSP shared that her team only found out about the festival's cancellation on their way to work. She added that the other vendors at the event were "giving away their food for free". Big Boss HSP themselves gave a discount of 10 per cent to ticket holders of the Good Vibes Festival.
The organisers of the Good Vibes Festival have announced that they "will update (attendees) on refund mechanics as soon as possible".
