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Radiohead, Beastie Boys, Beck To Play Scaled Down Field Day Festival
06/05/2003 3:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
LAUNCH Radio Networks
(6/5/03, 3 p.m. ET) -- The town of Riverhead, New York has denied a permit to the two-day Field Day festival concert, which was to take place this weekend (June 7 and 8) at a former aerospace lot in the small town on Eastern Long Island, featuring acts such as Radiohead, Blur, and Beastie Boys.
Promoters have acted quickly, however, and now the festival has been pared down to a 12-hour event on Saturday at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. Tickets for that show are already on sale. The one-day festival starts at 12:00 noon on Saturday and runs through midnight, according to a spokesperson at Giants Stadium. The line-up will not feature every act scheduled for the original festival, but will still feature Radiohead, Beastie Boys, Beck, Blur, and Underworld, among others.
Tickets for the canceled two-day Field Day event will not be honored at Giants Stadium. Tickets for the one-day Field Day event at the stadium must be bought either online or through Ticketmaster. All orders for the canceled two-day event purchased using a credit card will be automatically refunded, along with the convenience fee. Tickets bought using other means must be taken to the point of purchase for a refund.
The festival was originally to be held at the former Grumman Aerospace complex in the Riverhead township of Calverton, but the town of Riverhead was threatened by a lawsuit by Suffolk County, that would keep the event from taking place. The lack of cooperation on the county level forced Riverhead Supervisor Robert F. Kozakiewicz to reluctantly cancel the event early Wednesday morning (June 4).
A statement by Kozakiewicz reads, "It is with deep regret that I announce the that the Town Board cannot approve the Field Day Festival 2003." Suffolk County Assistant Attorney Colleen F. Dowd confirmed that its involvement in the festival is over. "At this point the concert is canceled as far as Suffolk County is concerned," Dowd said. "The judge in Riverhead at the Supreme Court signed a temporary restraining order, which restrains the promoter from continuing to prepare for the concert until a hearing is held."
A hearing is scheduled for Thursday (June 5), but Dowd was unclear what could be resolved.
Field Day promoter Andrew Dreskin had problems getting a "mass gathering" permit from the county. Riverhead Supervisor Kozakiewicz claims that Suffolk County made an "unexplained last minute decision.... that the County would not participate in the event. The decision left the promoters scrambling for police assistance so that they could carry the event forward."
Kozakiewicz had hoped the 50,000 expected attendees would pump money into the town, and he did all he could to make it happen. "I have supported Field Day Festival from the outset and I felt compelled to provide whatever assistance I could to the promoter so that the event might indeed take place. Our collective efforts however, were unsuccessful."
An unnamed source said that Riverhead and promoter Dreskin were set to file a lawsuit against Suffolk County due to its handling of the permit process. Riverhead officials and Dreskin's office both declined to comment, saying they had been advised by attorneys not to discuss the matter. Suffolk County Assistant Attorney Dowd couldn't comment on the possible suit. Other county officials did not return calls by press time.
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