Two full festival seasons have passed since Blue Ridge Rock Festival 2023 went down in flames, leaving tens of thousands stranded in the mud, without refunds or even a proper apology.
And while fans are still filing claims, emailing Attorney Generals, and clinging to half-refunds from Etix, the festival’s former face, Jonathan Slye, seems to have done what corporations love best: rebrand and move on.
He has reportedly stepped into new roles in the DWP festival ecosystem, quietly taking part in booking lineups for some of the biggest rock events in America — without ever issuing a statement to the people he left in debt, sick, or financially wrecked by Blue Ridge.
2023 attendees are still out hundreds to thousands of dollars.
2025 festival-goers are now unknowingly buying tickets… curated by the same guy.
“He abandoned Blue Ridge, walked into DWP like nothing happened and never said a thing to us. Not one update. Not one apology. Nothing.”
The tone online has shifted from shock to something colder: a low-burning resentment watching someone ascend in the industry while the aftermath of his previous project remains a smoldering crater.
Would You Accept an ‘Industry Redemption Arc’ If Refunds Were Never Paid?
This is the uncomfortable question the community is asking:
“How is it that we — the people who paid, who camped in sewage, who watched this collapse — are still waiting for answers… while he’s booking lineups for new festivals and cash is flowing again?”
He gets a fresh start.
They get silence and a credit card statement.
Some posters even frame it like this:
“This wasn’t a tragedy. It was a transfer of power and money. The festival died, the name is useless — but the guys behind it moved on to bigger platforms without the baggage.”
Blue Ridge Rock Fest Became a Grave — and a Career Launchpad
In 2023, Blue Ridge collapses, cancellations go out, refunds “pending insurance.”
In 2024, no refunds. No update. No closure. But DWP lineups suddenly shift in tone, mirroring Blue Ridge style.
In 2025, fans recognize his booking fingerprints on lineups for Sonic Temple, Inkcarceration, Louder Than Life, and Rockville… while still waiting for a single official communication from him about Blue Ridge.
It feels less like a failure — and more like a stepping stone built out of other people’s lost paychecks, medical bills, and wasted vacation time.
**2023: “We’re Working On It” —
2025: Still No Refunds, But Plenty of New Contracts Signed**
That’s the story.
Not just a festival collapse, but what happens when an organizer moves forward in the industry without ever finishing the story he left behind. And now thousands of people are rewriting that story themselves—through open letters, inbox campaigns, Reddit investigations, and a growing digital paper trail demanding a reckoning.