Editor’s Note: The three Charleston-area writers of this column asked to remain anonymous.
The High Water music festival made it sadly clear Oct. 26 just how significantly it has departed from its roots in serving the Charleston community.
Given the lineup of next year’s festival in April, we were genuinely excited for another great year of music. It was, after all, a unique opportunity to see a recently reunited Walkmen and other outstanding mid-size acts who typically bypass Charleston during their national tours (think Courtney Barnett, Kevin Morby). But the many oddities of the ticket sale execution for next spring’s festival have put the greed of the promoters ahead of the art. High Water now appears to have regressed into just another corporate festival, devoid of its once-distinctive Lowcountry charm.
The heart of our concern is the blatant prioritization of profits and increasingly distant connection to the festival’s roots as a celebration of local talent. This is most clearly exemplified by the way tickets for the High Water Festival are being sold. While we recount our personal experiences below, discussions with friends and colleagues, along with responses on High Water’s Instagram feed, revealed that our ordeal was universal.
At noon on Oct. 26, the High Water ticket pre-sale began through Front Gate Tickets, which recently became a subsidiary of Live Nation. Nothing short of chaos ensued. Fans initially found a message stating that the website couldn’t handle the traffic and asked them to repeatedly refresh their browsers. Subsequently, those who managed to add tickets to their cart were informed at checkout that the tickets were no longer available. Finally, after nearly two hours, fans were informed that all tickets were sold out, but they could join a waitlist. Registering for the waitlist requires entering credit card information, and cards are immediately charged upon ticket availability. The waitlist fee is $30 on top of a $300 weekend General Admission fee. Out of more than 100 people we spoke with, only two were able to secure tickets.
You may wonder, as we do, how an entire festival could sell out during its pre-sale, especially when High Water had not sold out in the past two years. While it’s possible that the headliners can expect to draw more significant crowds than in previous years, it’s also conceivable that Swiftie-style bots played a role. Nevertheless, the waitlist system raises suspicions. Are promoters artificially creating ticket scarcity to push fans toward the waitlist or to consider more expensive VIP ($725) and Platinum ($1,650) options? Regardless, the ticket rollout appears to reflect a greed that seems to have taken hold of what was once a local festival.
We don’t intend for this column to come across as some bitter music fans who did not score tickets to a festival they were eagerly anticipating. While we are disappointed, we are even more disheartened by the degradation of yet another Charleston event. General admission weekend tickets are now priced more than 100% higher than they were when High Water first started six years ago. We’re willing to wager that the bands aren’t being paid 100% more, and event costs haven’t increased to that extent.
However, consolidation within the music industry, resembling a monopoly, has taken place, directly impacting this event. The company behind the festival (AC Entertainment) and the ticket vendor (Front Gate Tickets) are both now owned by Live Nation. Moreover, the event now bears sponsorship from JP Morgan Chase Bank, White Claw, Jim Beam, and other non-local corporate entities. Hence, the need for continued price hikes becomes even more perplexing. In essence, a festival that once embodied Charleston now merely happens to occur in our city.
So, how do we proceed? First, we can appeal to the curators of High Water, Cary Ann and Michael (Shovels and Rope), to remedy these issues in the coming years. However, they may be powerless against the avarice of the music industry, and Live Nation, in particular. But, perhaps more importantly, we call on the Charleston community to show its support for local music and independent venues. We are fortunate to reside in a city with a vibrant, diverse music scene and supportive promoters. Let’s take action to ensure this continues for years to come and that High Water will one day once again reflect our community’s values.
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