EARTHSHAKER FEST Organizers Explain This Year's Cancellation

As BLABBERMOUTH.NETreported on March 14, the organizers of Germany's Earthshaker Fest, which normally takes place in July in Kreuth, have decided against staging this year's event, due primarily to difficulties in securing exclusive appearances by headliner-level acts in an increasingly competitive European festival market.

The following English-language statement has been posted on the festival's web site:

"We would like to thank you for the numerous positive mails we have received over the last several months, and for your loyal support and interest over the years. We understand your confusion about not having heard anything from us over such a long period of time. The reasons for this were basically that we ourselves weren't sure about the future of the Earthshaker Festival. We wanted to consider all options before issuing an official statement.

"We are grateful for your enduring loyalty and support as well as your encouragement, even if things didn't necessarily go as planned at the last Fest. After careful consideration and with a heavy heart we have decided against an Earthshaker Fest in 2008. This decision was not an easy one for us to make, especially because we established the festival over the past 5 years with conviction, passion and enthusiasm.

"One of the main reasons for the cancellation was the excessive number of festivals currently in operation, and the resulting salary demands which have increased considerably over the last few years, particularly with regards to potential headliners. Associated with this is, of course, a much higher economic risk. One of the main problems is that there are almost no overly attractive headliners except for a few 'dinosaurs' who have been established for ages, or some extremely rare exceptions. Additionally, there is a deficit when it comes to timing. Attractive bands are touring Europe in June, performing at the big European festivals during that time, which means they are usually not available in July.

"It is also not reasonable to move the Earthshaker to June due to the considerable choice of festivals within that month. There are also issues of exclusivity, resulting in certain bands not being available to select or all competitors. It would certainly be possible to do a 3 day festival in July based on the 'Geiz ist geil/Cheap is awesome' motto, presenting a multitude of bands at a low ticket price, but a concept like that does not comply with the Earthshaker principles since our main focus has always been on the aspect of quality.

"The final consideration would be the matter of location. It is crucial not to have large towns in the vicinity, since an idyllic setting on its own does not suffice.

"Organising a festival of such size is also a very time consuming and cannot be done casually as a hobby. It amounts to a full time job, a more than stressful seven-day week while other work can hardly be done. Nevertheless, in the past, the moment on the Saturday when everybody was standing in front of the stage enjoying the headliner show it more than compensated for everything.

"We want to thank you all, especially the phenomenal ESF Streetforce, for your devoted support since 2003 and wish you all a metallic 2008!"