Venue of Postponed Evolutions Festival Says It Was Ready Despite Organizers’ Permit Claims

The Sugar Mountain Performing Arts Center in Caneadea, New York has disputed claims made by organizers of the 2025 Evolutions Festival regarding the postponement of the event, originally scheduled for September 5-7.

Evolutions released a statement Tuesday and placed blame on Sugar Mountain by claiming the venue “has not secured the necessary permitting for the festival” to move forward. However, venue owner Jeremy Lane has now publicly refuted those claims in a statement of his own, asserting that the promoters failed to meet contractual obligations in the final weeks before the event.

Lane said his venue holds a standing special use permit approved in 2020 that allows events larger than any previously hosted by Evolutions. He alleged that organizers failed to provide essential documentation including proof of insurance and hold harmless agreements, and did not secure contracts for over 150 required personnel including security, medical and sanitation staff.

Lane described “months of preparation work and significant financial investment” made by his team in anticipation of the festival, which was expected to draw between 1,000 and 1,500 attendees.

“With only 24 hours to load in and seven days until the gates opened, essential elements such as proof of insurance and hold harmless agreements were not provided,” Lane wrote. “Despite my repeated requests for documentation, the response from Evolutions was that they were forced to cancel due to our alleged negligence.”

The venue owner advised ticket-holders to seek refunds under New York state consumer protection laws. While the proprietors of Evolutions have not publicly addressed whether or not they plan to issue refunds, the FAQ section of the festival’s website states: “Tickets are non-refundable, non-transferable, and non-exchangeable under any circumstances, including but not limited to: Festival cancellation [and] Festival postponement or rescheduling.”

Sugar Mountain also took to Instagram to share screenshots of an attempt to contact Evolutions management online, stating they “upheld our end of the contracted agreement and are fully capable and ready for the Evolutions team and their participants to arrive.”

Alison Wonderland, Ganja White Night and Of The Trees were set to headline this year’s Evolutions Festival prior to its postponement. The event’s organizers have not announced a new date or venue at the time of this writing. 

You can read Lane’s full statement, which he shared to Facebook, below along with the contents of Sugar Mountain’s Instagram post.

Evolutions Cancellation

For those unfamiliar with me, my name is Jeremy Lane, and I am the owner-operator of Sugar Mountain PAC. Earlier this year, we were contacted by Michael Brown, expressing interest in hosting an event at our venue.

I conducted due diligence by reaching out to previous venues and learned about issues at Echo and Indian. Consequently, I ensured that our event would maintain the highest standards of safety and cleanliness, adhering to contracted guidelines, as evidenced by the documentation provided below.

Our event requires involvement of over 150 individuals, including security, medical, and sanitation personnel, working throughout the weekend. None of these individuals received signed contracts, funding, or communication from Michael Brown or the Evolutions team within the last two weeks.

With only 24 hours to load in and seven days until the gates opened, essential elements such as proof of insurance and hold harmless agreements were not provided. Despite my repeated requests for documentation, the response from Evolutions was that they were forced to cancel due to our alleged negligence.

A promoter planning to host an event does not wait until seven days prior to sign necessary contracts and make necessary deposits to secure safety, medical, and sanitation needs required by the state, county, and town, as well as per our contract if they plan on hosting the event.

We hold a standing special use permit, which enables us to host events larger than any festival Evolutions has hosted. This information is based on recorded sales at Echo and Indian. Our permit was approved in 2020 and remains valid indefinitely. We do not need to file for permits, and as per our contract, any additional requirements would have been the responsibility of Evolutions.

After discussing with Evolutions three weeks ago, they anticipated an attendance of between 1,000 and 1,500 people. However, they canceled the main stage rental four weeks ago, stating their intention to renegotiate with artists and vendors to offset potential losses.

My team and I at Sugar Mountain worked diligently to implement the infrastructure requested by Evolutions, causing a large financial investment and immense physical effort. As a father of five wonderful daughters, I can attest that this endeavor consumed our entire summer. I worked tirelessly through the night and every weekend to ensure that our first hosted event would be nothing short of magical, safe, and enjoyable for our new Evolutions community.

Each and every one of you should make an effort to be refunded as new york state law protects individuals who purchase tickets from event promoters for this very reason. If you request a refund and you do not receive it. You need to email the New York State Attorney General. As there is a timeline for your refund That must be met. We will be implementing legal safeguards in our contract

To protect future attendees from event promoters

My heart goes out to everyone affected by Evolutions.

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