I talk about the lack of local representation, cultural representation, Liquid Death at $6 per can, and the 25% merch cut that the festival took from artists.
I left both days quite early (mostly because of the weather on each day). I went with a VIP ticket and I WAS STILL PISSED at how much they continue to fuck over GA ticket holders. It’s offensive to have 90% of one of the stages blocked off for VIP/Platinum. I can’t imagine what that feels like for an artist to see their fans nearly half a football field away while you play to a mostly empty privileged section. As one of those people in the VIP section, I felt out of place and disconnected from the whole vibe of being at a show. During Babe Club I ended up going over to the GA section since people there were actually dancing and vibing. Sure, it’s was great to have nicer bathrooms and such, but the fact that they took away most of the shaded areas from GA so I could have a comfy poop is even more discomforting than squatting in a port-a-potty. Do we really need a class war at a music festival? Regular life is hard enough. Just make it all GA and equally accessible – You can do that by not blowing your budget booking TikTok famous pop stars and milking every last cent out of people while giving them less. It’s not just Highwater either. I’m going to Shaky Knees today and after last year’s changes I simply don’t have my hopes up. These festivals keep chipping away at what made them great to begin with and they’re all starting to feel like a chore to attend.
“Hey everyone, it’s with a bittersweet heart that we want to let you all know that the time has come for us to move on from the festival baby we helped bring into the world 7 years ago @highwaterfest …We will no longer be serving as partners and curators going forward but we do so with endless gratitude and love for all the time we spent out on the waterfront with you. It has been a true honor to play a part in bringing some of our favorite bands and people together in our beautiful home town. This isn’t the forum to get into the gory details of music festival economics, but trust us when we say that it’s tough out there, and the moves that almost all festivals have made in recent years to make those economics work have also pulled the event in a direction that is out of reach of what our vision for High Water was and hoped it could remain. To be clear, this a loving break-up. The individuals who have been working on High Water from the very beginning are some of the best people in the music business and have worked tirelessly each year to bring this event to life. We want to publicly thank them for all their hard work, and to our friends and family who did SO much behind the scenes, you know who you are and we love you for it. High Water will live on, and we hope people continue to have fun and hear great music by the water each year. Thank you for all the joy and beautiful moments!”
My Thoughts on this
Well, we’re probably screwed now. To me, this announcement means that Live Nation is going to double down on the corporate greed for next year’s event, and we will very likely end up with even more BS. I would love to be proven wrong but I strongly doubt that High Water will take any steps towards enriching Charleston’s community now that Shovels & Rope are no longer involved.
The divide between the cool independent entities and the evil corporate overlords in the music industry continues to grow. This trend is likely to continue until either all the independent people give up (not happening in my lifetime) or Live Nation goes under (or bends the knee).
