Advertisement

Music festival slammed for restricting underage ticket holders

Less than two weeks ahead of a national music festival, organisers have advised under-18 ticket-holders they may now only attend with adult supervision – a move slammed by Aussie music fans.

Last week, organisers of the three-city punk and heavy metal music Good Things festival announced underage ticket-holders would no longer be permitted inside the gates of its Sydney event, and today minors planning to attend the Melbourne event have been told they can only attend with a chaperone.

The festival is due to roll out in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane December 7-9, featuring The Offspring, Bullet For My Valentine, Stone Sour and a string of international and local acts.

Good Things music festival slammed for restricting underage ticket-holders less than two weeks before the event.
Underage ticket-holders can no longer attend the Sydney Good Things music festival, and Melbourne teens now need to come with an adult. Source: Getty, file

Despite tickets going on sale two months ago, the organiser Destroy All Lines only has today issued an alert advising “slight changes to entry for U18 patrons” in Melbourne.

What to do if you are an under 18 Good Things ticket-holder

According to the Good Things Melbourne event webpage, “Anyone under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a responsible adult.”

The person must either be a parent or guardian over the age of 18, or an adult “acting in place of a parent and who could reasonably be expected to exercise responsible supervision of the minor”.

Underage festival-goers are now required to contact the organiser prior to the event and notify them of the name, date of birth and contact number of their supervising adult.

The Offspring will headline Good Things music festival, with restrictions now in place for under 18s.
The Offspring will headline the three-city Good Things festival December 7-9. Source: Getty Images

The minor and “responsible adult” will also be required to enter the Flemington Racecourse event at the same time.

“The minor will be issued with an easily distinguishable U18 wristband that has the space where the phone number of the responsible adult can be applied,” according to the Good Things website.

The Facebook announcement said all ticket-holders have been emailed with information about the changes, however many reported they have not yet been contacted.

Festival-goers slam Good Things festival

The late change has angered many ticket-holders who had already made plans to attend the Melbourne event.

They need to establish this when the tickets are first on sale. To pull this less than 2 weeks before the actual fest is ridiculous,” a man wrote on the Facebook event page.

“Gonna suck for those under 18s who turn up and are unaware of this.”

One woman agreed, saying: “That is rough to make that decision so late. Kids need music.”

It’s a bit f***ed to make you spring this on people two weeks before the festival”, another adult wrote, offering to act as chaperone.

All Time Low will perform at Good Things music festival, with restrictions now in place for under 18s.
All Time Low perform on stage at the 2015 Soundwave Festival in Melbourne, and will return to Australia for Good Things next month. Source: Getty

Government red tape blamed for Sydney under 18 ban

The move comes days after Destroy All Lines withdrew permission for its December 8 Parramatta Park event to underage ticket-holders.

“Patrons under the age of 18 will no longer be able to attend the Sydney event. All Under 18 ticket holders will be contacted by Oztix for a full refund,” the event website states.

“Good Things festival believes that live music and festivals are for everyone but unfortunately the NSW state government does not share the same view,” Destroy All Lines said in a statement last Tuesday regarding the Sydney event.

“Even though it is not against the law, NSW police have imposed multiple impediments, including excessive police presence and exorbitant fees, making it impossible for us to allow anyone under 18 to attend the event.”

Yahoo News has contacted Destroy All Lines and Oztix for a statement.