New York Sues Evolutions Festival Over $243K in Unrefunded Tickets

New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued the organizers of Evolutions Festival, alleging they failed to refund more than $243,000 in advance ticket sales after canceling the 2025 event just 10 days before it was scheduled to begin.

The complaint, filed September 29, names Evolutions Festival LLC, 845 Vibrations LLC and organizers Michael and Justin Brown. James’s office says 521 people bought 1,157 tickets and add-ons totaling $243,158.04, while 28 vendors paid another $21,662.75 to participate in the festival. Eleven ticket buyers ultimately recovered money through credit card disputes, according to the attorney general.

The three-day electronic music festival had been planned at the Sugar Mountain Performing Arts Center, with Alison Wonderland, Of the Trees and Flowdan among the scheduled performers. Organizers canceled the event shortly before it was set to begin and blamed the venue, saying it had not secured the permits needed to host the festival.

Sugar Mountain disputed that account, saying it had the required permits and that the event fell apart because the promoters failed to provide documents including signed contracts and proof of liability insurance. Evolutions later sued the venue, arguing its permits were inadequate for the expected crowd and that it lacked approvals needed to serve alcohol. The venue has denied those claims, and that case remains pending.

James alleges New York law required the promoters to keep advance ticket revenue in escrow or maintain other financial protection so buyers could be refunded if the event was canceled or rescheduled. The complaint says Evolutions could not make refunds contingent on winning its separate lawsuit against Sugar Mountain.

The attorney general’s office says the promoters told investigators they would consider refunding customers only if they prevailed in the venue dispute. James argues that position violated state consumer protection and ticketing laws. Her office opened an investigation after receiving complaints from ticket buyers seeking refunds.

The lawsuit also seeks repayment of more than $21,000 collected from vendors who had planned to participate in the festival. James is asking the court to order restitution for ticket buyers and vendors, impose civil penalties of $5,000 for each of 1,185 alleged violations of New York’s General Business Law, and bar the defendants from holding future cultural events in the state unless they first post a $500,000 bond. If the court imposed the maximum penalty on every alleged violation, the total could reach nearly $6 million.

James said concertgoers and vendors who spend money in New York should be able to expect that state consumer protections will apply when an event is canceled.