Freedom Fest gets cancelled due to ticket prices

Freedom Fest, the MAGA-aligned event featuring right-leaning musician Kid Rock, has been canceled once again, as per MetalInjection. Organized by Kentucky Republican Eric Deters, the festival—which was scheduled for Saturday, September 26, and also boasted appearances from Dog the Bounty Hunter and U.S. Rep. James Comer—was pulled due to disastrously low VIP ticket sales. Deters revealed to the Cincinnati Enquirer that he managed to sell just six of the $1,000 VIP passes needed to fund the production.

Because general admission and parking were offered free of charge, the festival relied entirely on VIP revenue to cover operational costs. Deters had targeted 100 VIP pass sales to generate $100,000, but the $6,000 actually raised fell far short, barely covering backstage catering costs. Despite the turnout failure, Deters maintained that interest in attending the event remained high, attributing the cancellation strictly to his inability to move the high-priced packages.

When I put together Patriots Day Freedom Fest, I put it together with the game plan and the idea that I could pay for it with VIP sales of $1,000 from these 100 people that I interact with on a regular basis. Rich people, as a whole, suck. Now I’m a rich person. I live in one hell of a house. I don’t suck, because I know that money isn’t what freakin’ matters the most. It’s the fight, it’s the cause, it’s helping people. – Eric Deters

While past iterations of Freedom Fest saw respectable turnouts, this latest cancellation is not the first time organizer Eric Deters has been forced to scrap the event. The 2023 edition was similarly abandoned after a scheduled appearance by former President Donald Trump fell through, coupled with reported complications involving event vendors. Following this latest financial setback, Deters confirmed he has no future plans to resurrect the festival.