For the past couple of weeks, I had been hearing all sorts of buzz about this event happening in Phoenix. Some people were hyping it up as “the best night of their lives,” while others were skeptical from the start, jokingly dubbing it the “Phoenix Fyre Fest.” Naturally, my curiosity was piqued.
So, I decided to do a little digging — starting with the venue’s website.
The photos of the inside of the venue… well, they don’t really exist. Instead, the site features glossy 3D renderings of what the space was supposed to look like: sleek, modern, and vibrant. Reality couldn’t have been further from that. When I arrived, it was basically a warehouse with a makeshift stage and two DIY bars shoved into the back. No fancy lighting, no immersive visuals, and definitely no air conditioning, which, in Phoenix, is basically a crime. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Let’s rewind a bit and talk about the days leading up to the festival. Things were already starting to fall apart before it even began. Just a few days out, several bands began dropping from the lineup one after another. Then came the biggest blow — the headliner, Yung Lean, pulled out of the festival entirely.
That sent the organizers into full panic mode. They scrambled to find a replacement, posting on Instagram that they were “actively looking for a new headliner” and that an announcement would be made soon. Behind the scenes, though, things weren’t looking promising. An inside source of mine told me that in the organizers’ group chat, they were tossing around the idea of booking Juicy J as the new main act, but nothing ever came of it.
By the time the festival day arrived, it was clear they hadn’t managed to secure anyone new. With no replacement lined up, the organizers decided to bump the co-headliner, Nettspend, into the top slot and turning what was supposed to be the biggest performance of the weekend into more of a last-minute backup plan.
The day of the festival finally arrived, and the organizers posted the set times on Instagram. The first slide showed a “new” lineup poster, followed by the schedule on the next slide. Right away, something felt off — the lineup poster didn’t even match the artists listed in the set times. Some names were missing, others were still there even though they weren’t performing. One example was the band February, who were still featured on the poster despite having dropped out days earlier. At that point, it felt like the festival was starting to “catfish” its own fans.
So how did I even end up at this festival in the first place? Honestly, I was just curious. Earlier this month, I came across this event called One Big Party Fest and started hearing all the rumors — people were either super hyped or completely skeptical about it. Naturally, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
I actually reached out to the festival organizers to request press credentials… but never heard back. Then, out of nowhere, one of the artists performing at the festival DMed me on Instagram asking if I’d be down to take photos of their set. So, in a funny way, it all worked out.
An hour before the festival was even supposed to start, things were already starting to fall apart. The schedule was a mess and set times kept changing, artists were being moved around, and no one seemed to know what was actually happening. Sets for the majority of the performers were 15-20 minute sets. It was clear the event was already running behind before it even began.
So I showed up around 1 p.m. and went to check in. When I asked the staff where the artist check-in was, they looked confused and just told me to “ask security” and that I’d “probably be fine.” Not exactly reassuring.
Security, as it turned out, was another story entirely. The inspection process was almost nonexistent. I unzipped my backpack, and the guard glanced into one pocket before waving me through. That was it. In that moment, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, I feel so safe… not.” First red flag of the day. Out of curiosity (and a bit of mischief), I had hidden a High Noon tall can in my bag just to see how thorough the check would be… spoiler alert, I got it in without a problem.
Once I got inside, the place felt surprisingly empty. The event had technically started, but it looked like barely anyone had shown up yet. I figured maybe it was still early and the crowd would start rolling in soon.
I was on a mission to find someone who worked there so I could get my credentials and access the side stage to take photos. But that turned out to be harder than expected. There were hardly any staff members in sight, and the only “information booth” I found was barricaded off in a corner… with no one working it. Great start.
I ended up running into one of my buddies at the festival, who was also there shooting photos for a band. We hung out for a bit and couldn’t help but joke about the turnout, or rather, the lack of one. At one point, I asked him, “So how much are they paying your band for this gig?”
Curious, we went over to talk to the band he was working with, and that’s when things got even sketchier. They told us they had no idea how much they were getting paid. In fact, they hadn’t been paid at all yet. That was another major red flag, and it honestly said a lot about how the whole event was being run.
As I walked around to check out the so-called “fan experience,” I started noticing something strange. There were people wearing VIP badges, but there weren’t any actual VIP sections anywhere. No lounges, no designated viewing areas, nothing that even hinted at a VIP setup.
I saw a post on Instagram Story from a fan who was attending the festival, and he summed it up perfectly. He said this about the VIP passes:
“@onebigpartyfest absolutely disrespected the hellp’s show, actually disgusting how anyone was supposed to preform at this wack stage.Hands down some of the worst management I’ve ever seen anywhere. I knew this fest was gonna be a little rough but not this bad. 3 hour delay from letting people in, over 6 big name acts dropping from the lineup, security nearly killing a man, weak sound system, staff that had no clue what was going on or what they had to do. No sense of VIP anything, there was literally nothing that VIP’s got. Some friends of mine got lanyards that said VIP, they asked what they can get with them, the guy literally said nothing. 60+ on top of the normal price of a ticket for literally nothing. We’re told we would get free drinks, free food, VIP viewing area and line up fast pass. We literally didn’t even see anything to accommodate any of that. The staff didn’t even know of these things being available 😂😂I get this is the first time they ever did this but seriously this was brutalll.”We will get to the part where “security almost killed a man.”
I kept walking around with my buddy and noticed something that made absolutely no sense. There was a booth doing tattoos… right next to the dirt mosh pit. The hardcore stage was set up on a patch of loose dirt that kicked up clouds of dust every time people started moving around.
Within minutes, the whole area was covered in it. I couldn’t wrap my head around how anyone thought having a tattoo station in such a dusty environment was even remotely sanitary.
I finally met up with the artist I was shooting for, and we hung out for a bit before their set. We were still trying to figure out my credential situation, which was turning into a hassle. As their set time got closer, we headed toward the side stage to start setting up, but I was immediately denied entry because I didn’t have the proper credentials, even though I was with the artist. We tried explaining the situation to security, but the guard didn’t care and ended up physically pushing me out of the area.
Frustrated, we decided to look for a manager to explain what was going on. We walked over to the “artist village,” which turned out to be just four canopies with folding tables and chairs. There was nothing special set up for the performers. Most of the bands were just sitting or lying around near the stage, waiting for their sets to start. The whole setup felt unprofessional and completely unaccommodating for the artists. I’ve been to plenty of festivals with artist credentials, and I’ve seen what proper artist villages look like. This one didn’t come close to what other festivals provide for their performers.
Finally, we were able to get my credentials sorted out, and our set went great. We had a solid crowd, and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. No issues at all during our performance. As soon as our set was over, I packed up my gear and headed home.
Now let’s talk about the incident involving the 9th and Jackson security staff that “almost killed a man.”
A video started circulating on social media showing three large security guards from the 9th and Jackson venue beating up a much smaller guy. They knocked him out and left him bleeding on the face. I don’t have all the details about what led up to the situation or what exactly the guy did to get assaulted by security, but it was disturbing to watch.
One user commented under the video, which has since been taken down, said:
“This is fucking horrible, and you can be sued for this. All he did was throw up, bro, like wtf. That’s my homie, I know him, and he’s got no bad blood in him whatsoever. Maybe instead of throwing him around like that, give him some water and ask if he’s alright. You guys escalated the situation way more than he did, and it’s uncalled for.”
When I got home and saw that video, I was honestly shocked. Security should never handle a situation like that, no matter what the issue is. Their job is to manage conflicts, keep everyone safe, and de-escalate situations, not 3v1/knock out a kid who is half their size. We reached out to One Big Party and 9th and Jackson for comment and have yet to hear back.
All in all, this was my experience with this festival. Many people had their own personal issues with the festivals, from what I heard as soon as I got home. Was this festival successful? I would say, No. Did it have potential prior to the assault of a kid… maybe. Do I see a future for this festival? Probably not if we see a lawsuit happening.
In my personal opinion, this festival was too ambitious for being a DIY fest. I think the organizers were more focused on the lineup than on the fan experience. This festival could of had a smaller lineup and they could of invested that money on giving the fans a better experience with activities and stuff to do.
