Overview
Free stuff might not fix everything, but the organisers of Wine Machine are hoping it'll help cool a fraction of the heat they've copped in the past three days. They're offering two free gigs to disgruntled patrons of the musical festival's NSW leg.
The Hunter Valley festival was dealt a big blow over the weekend, when a freak electrical storm put an early end to the event, shutting things down just before DJ and co-founder Hot Dub Time Machine made it on to the stage. And those in charge have copped some slack for the way the situation was handled, with festivalgoers complaining about shoddy evacuation processes, as well as lengthy bar lines and wait times during the festival.
In now-deleted social media comments published in Tone Deaf, festivalgoers slammed organisers for their lack of concern for patrons' safety, apparently more focused on getting people out quickly than on the dangerous lightning. Attendee Samuel Brady labelled it the "worst event ever", saying, "a tree came down in front of us and a guy broke his leg. So much for duty of care". A heavy police presence caused more complaints, while stacks of patrons called out Wine Machine's hefty food and drink queues, with some saying they waited in line in the sun for over 45 minutes.
In an updated statement released yesterday, Wine Machine Hunter Valley event organisers said the evacuation was initiated in consultation with medical, safety, police and emergency services officers, saying, "the safety of all patrons, artists, and staff is of absolute priority". They also called for feedback on the day's police and security methods, which can be submitted here.
The statement also addressed bar queues, blaming lengthy wait times on NSW's strict new festival licensing restrictions, management by external operators and an incident between two staff mini-buses.
In the wake of this, Hot Dub Time Machine has promised to make up for his missed performance, with two free shows for Wine Machine attendees. "We wanted to make it up to you with this small token of our appreciation," the DJ said in a statement, announcing a full-length show at the Enmore Theatre on April 11, followed by Newcastle's Exhibition Centre on April 12.
The gigs are exclusively for Wine Machine ticket holders, who'll each receive an email with registration details for the coming shows.
Read Wine Machine's full statement below.
Statement from the organisers of Wine Machine Hunter Valley
Over the weekend 11,000 patrons attended the Wine Machine event at Roche Estate in the Hunter Valley. Toward the end of the event, personnel in the Event Control Centre who had been monitoring weather all day were made aware of an extreme storm cell rapidly approaching the event. The decision to evacuate was made in consultation with event medical, safety, police and emergency services officers and evacuation procedures were initiated circa 2130, 90 minutes prior to the scheduled end of the event after The Presets performance but prior to Hot Dub Time Machine's performance.
The extreme weather system included torrential rain and a high multitude of lightning strikes within close proximity. The safety of all patrons, artists, and staff is of absolute priority. Evacuations of this nature in such extreme conditions are never pleasant. If you have feedback on the method by which police and or security managed this please email the WM team at cellarmaster@wine-machine.com and we will come back to you personally. We take reports of over aggressive behaviour very seriously and will investigate accordingly.
We must also address bar lines earlier in the day. It must be noted the venue Roche Estate was a dry hire and not responsible for the bars. There were a number of external operators managing the event. Due to the current climate in NSW, severe licensing conditions were placed upon the event limiting drinks to two per person causing unacceptable congestion at the bars. Adding to this were staffing issues from our external bar operators Prime Collective who've issued the following statement:
"Whilst licensing restrictions played a significant role in bar congestion at the Wine Machine NSW event, we must unreservedly apologise for our role in this and take full responsibility. Two of our staffing mini-buses carrying 32 staff were reportedly involved in an incident whilst en route from Sydney resulting in bars being under staffed.
We are currently investigating the circumstances of this and following up on the conditions of those staff involved. If you would like further information on this or the licensing restrictions please email us: info@primecollective.com.au and we will come back to you."
Event medical, police and safety officers have commended the attendees of the event for an otherwise very well behaved crowd with minimal presentations and detections for an event of this size.
Lastly, stay tuned for an announcement from Hot Dub Time Machine who is planning to throw a complimentary make-up show for those disappointed he didn't get to play.