Sloss Music Festival

Mother nature ruined this event. I got to see Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and Arcade Fire but that s all I got to see out of 44 bands. Granted I didn t want to see most of the bands but I had selected about 10 to go see and they were all canceled due to lightning, but no rain. I understand safety but there should be some kind a refund system on this disaster. I will end by saying that Jason Isbell and the Arcade Fire were awesome sets!

This was my husband's and mine first Sloss visit. We knew the weather would be hot and we knew it would rain and be muddy so we were prepared. However, we weren't prepared for 7 hours of delays. I had heard from Sloss fans in the past where they had to delay due to lightning but it was always over quickly and the music went on. I also heard from many friends and current sloss visitors that they've been to several festivals in the middle of storms and lightning and nothing was ever delayed. We were hungry, thirsty, and just bored out of our minds under the bridge. Thankfully, we drove each day and were able to leave the site after an hour or so into each delay. Also, we know our way around Birmingham and were able to get food and drinks. I feel very sorry for those who didn't drive and those who didn't know anything about where to find food. They were wondering around the streets in the middle of the "storms." There were around 4 music groups that we really wanted to see that, sadly, did not play at all due to the delays. Once we were allowed back in, security still checked bags but NO ONE checked tickets and plenty of people without tickets could enter. It was a very chaotic, confusing experience that I hope to never have to go through again. Other than that disaster, I loved the lineup and wide variety of music. I loved the food and drink choices. The setup and layout of the festival was super cool too. The bands that I did get to hear were amazing and put on awesome shows (except 21 Savage... his DJ is better). I wanted so badly to love this festival but I just can't due to the 7 hours forced away from it. 2 hours may be a little more understanding... but 7? Depending on how Sloss creators handle this will make or break my decision to attend next year. I'm willing to give it another chance if some discounts or free tickets are involved. I won't be paying $300 for weekend passes just to sit under a bridge for a code red.

We paid nearly $300 for weekend passes and only got to see 3 of the bands we came for play for shorter, 45 minute sets. That's it. All weekend. Aside from that, we had to sit and wait out the storms for a collective 7 hours from both days (Day 1: 2 hours under the viaduct and 1 hour in the car after we were evacuated, Day 2: 4 hours straight at the "Shed" stage). Security and staff told us that the festival was completely cancelled (both days), and a lot of people ended up leaving and driving home only to find out that wasn't the case and that the gates would be reopened. I know that they can't control the weather, and I get that, but it was completely unorganized / chaotic / and poorly managed throughout the weather events. I sat and looked at a screen that said "CODE RED" for FOUR hours on Sunday, and instead of utilizing those screens to inform us about the weather or status of the festival, they told us to refer to social media (while NO ONE had any cell service that would load their message). And that's another thing -- their social media updates. During that 4 hour time period we sat and waited, they took HOURS to give updates. All in all, the whole weekend was a complete disaster, and I still want some form of reimbursement because it was such a terrible experience and waste of time/money. Never again will I attend Slossfest.

Hot as hell with no breeze, so make sure you're acclimated to being in the perfect cocktail for heat exhaustion (heat index over 100, high humidity, poor air quality). I think the setting at Sloss is awesome, but would be better suited for a cooler month like April or October/later since it's in an industrial area of the city. Performances were great, awesome event design, good security, excellent vendors, and they even had an app (although it was buggy). I like how they had different genres/target audiences centered around a specific stage. It was a great inaugural festival, however I won't be back unless they have it at a different time of year.

I am so impressed with the success of the Inaugural Sloss Fest!! What an amazing festival it was. Everything was incredibly organized, well planned and scheduled, on time, you name it. The incredible artists were back to back by 5 o'clock which left no time for standing around in the heat doing nothing. I am so used to 3 day festivals that feature the same amount of recognizable artists that are spread out over the course of the festival so much that you are bored between shows. This was not the case at Sloss and what a refreshing festival it was! The 5th star would have been included had the parking been efficient for the amount of people attending and had there been enough tshirts to last both days. I'm certain these are rookie mistakes that have not gone unrecognized by the coordinators and there will be solutions to these issues next year, creating a FLAWLESS second year! I am so looking forward to it.

Incredibly diverse and talented musical acts and artists. Stage location/set up made logistics uncomplicated for attendees.

Very well organized! Great lineup! I enjoyed the variety of music.

The lineup was good. They managed to pull some of my favorite bands their first year... Good job Birmingham! The festival grounds were kept super clean. There were no lines for the ports potties, which were also kept in reasonably good condition. I loved the setup of the stages, the 2 major stages never overlapped shows. Good job Sloss Fest! I would say it was quite a successful first year! I hope it won't be the last year!

Excellent venue and festival especially for it being the inaugural year. We plan to make it a yearly trip!

I thought they did a great job putting on the festival and I will definitely be back next year! It was very hot, but not much they can do about that. They did have misting stations and water stations. Great acts for a 1st time event too!

The whole event was amazing! Cage the Elephant and Robert DeLong were the best!

Great weekend! The weekend lower tier VIP (IRON) pass was totally worth it. I would definitely go again next year.

Amazing festival. Everything ran smooth. The team of people and engineers that planed this threw a top notch event. The amenities were well worth the extra upgrade cost. The line-up was the best I have seen. Hope they do it again.

Music was all top notch. I loved the choices in beers, drinks and food. The ability to sit under the shade trees and listen to both stages was nice too. HOWEVER...for next year, please please please add more than one water station.

Great acts and a great venue. Hope they bring it back next year.

Can't say enough good things about the Sloss Furnace as a place to see and Venue. Music and sound systems were good. Stages were well spaced. Now the bad. The free water line was lengthy every time I checked. Very bad in the hot weather. Very very bad bad as I understand it was also an issue last year (someone isn't learning). Also, can I get a Coors Light or Jack and Coke (plenty of Miller Lite :-( and Vodka ... why no JD?). A few more porta pottys would also help.

Summer fun with lots of good vibes! Awesome bands!

The whole show was very well organized and not at all lacking sufficient space. There was plenty of available food, restrooms, and other things to do besides watching the actual concerts. The turnout at the concerts was incredible, considering this was the festival's first year. I am DEFINITELY going back next year and bringing more friends!

Great Festival Atmosphere. Setup was fantastic. Lineup was great. Modest Mouse Saturday Night blew me away!

Sloss was absolutely amazing. I went for my birthday and was completely in love. Great venues. Friendly staff. They really listened to how things could have been made better and were proactive in fixing them. Cage the Elephant was absolutely insane. Best show I've ever seen. It was a great first year and I'll definitely be returning in years to come.

Venue was great but the organization was pretty pitiful.

I understand you cant help what the weather does, but I spent $750 on two VIP Tickets and only got to watch 4 hours of the Festival. I think they should do partial refunds, because most bands people came to see, didn't get to play.

I bought these tickets for my boyfriend as a birthday present. Being a college student, I didn't necessarily have the funds to purchase two tickets, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity for such a fun event. This was unfortunately a terrible mistake. I wish I had not bought these tickets at all. I only got to see a total of 4 shows due to rain delays. The weather is not Sloss Fest's fault but the management had major flaws. During the rain delay they did not post any updates for two house. We were waiting in the cold to hear some news and it turned into a bad experience. I was so disappointed with the event and will never go back.

very disappointing that I missed some of the best bands, because of the weather. Even though I know it could not have been helped, I wish there were a better alternative than evacuating the entire event.

Poor communication during inclement weather. Line up was mediocre.

Worst outdoor festival I've ever been to. 8 hours of closed venue time due to approaching weather. performances cancelled and shortened. I expect a refund.!

there were over 8 hours of weather delays across both days of the event, but Steph told us on the first day that the entire event has been cancelled so me and everyone we knew left the event, to find out later that after a couple hours they reopened the event. they closed it for thunderstorm delays, but it never did anything other than sprinkle a little bit of rain. Very unorganized, very unprepared, and very unprofessional event.

v sad that war on drugs was cancelled and didn t have the best time chilling for an hour in the parking lot on sunday. had a great Saturday and also have been to an outdoor concert before so understand weather delays/cancellations are common.

Didn t get to see half of the bands I paid a lot of money to see!!!

Rained half the weekend, got to see less than half the artists. Thank goodness most of the bigger acts got to play, otherwise it would have been a complete bust.

Music was awesome. What I got to hear of it anyways. Really wish they would ve handled the storm situation better.

When everyone was evacuating I asked the workers if it was canceled all together and they said Everything was canceled and we needed to leave. No emails on updates at all and we weren t on social media to get updates. Which was very unprofessional to not send out emails considering not everyone has social media. We missed every concert we wanted to see Saturday because we were told by sloss WORKERS it was canceled. I am extremely upset about the whole situation. Also, my I.d wasn t scanning at the time for some reason so they made a big scene in front of my girlfriend which was embarrassing and I m clearly of age. Meanwhile NOBODY got their tickets checked upon entry. Very unprofessional. Higher security on I.Ds rather than the people who enter. I really wish I could email someone about this issue to help come to a solution. Otherwise I wasted $165 and the gas to get there.

Was excited to see a lot of the bands but the only thing showing was lightning delays.

The weather situation was such a bummer. By the end of the weekend, we only saw 5 shows that we wanted to see. On Sunday we were in the middle of Margot Price s set, there was not a cloud in the sky yet, and they made her and the other shows playing stop completely. They should have at least let these shows finish their sets. Then they made us wait to get wristbands to get back in AND DIDN T EVER CHECK TICKETS OR WRISTBANDS AGAIN. Both Saturday and Sunday nights were free for all s and the weekend was a total waste of money. The food tents were extremely sub par, as well.

This was our first time to attend Sloss Fest. We bought the Iron passes in order to have access to some upgrades. Our first day there we spent hours under the bridge due to lightning and then we were frantically evacuated. We were only notified that the festival was opening back up minutes before the bands set times started, not to mention the numerous bands that were cancelled. Same thing on Sunday, which was more understandable because it did rain pretty badly that day whereas Saturday we barely saw a sprinkle. The festival didn t open up again until Sunday night close to 10pm and many acts were cancelled. I understand inclement weather (although the tickets say rain or shine) but I think the time of year the festival is held needs to be re-evaluated because this isn t the first time this has happened at Sloss. We sadly will not be returning.

I was held in a delay for over half of each days show. Saw only a few acts. Paid over $240 for each ticket. We had two. I'd like at least 1/2 my money back. Terrible weather plan and updates. A waste of money with no effort to refund. I bet they had insurance for the venue! Return our money.

I purchased three VIP tickets and have been to every slossfest. This was by far the worst year, which is a huge understatement. Not only did most of the festival get rained out, there was never an adequate amount of time to return to the venue when the gates reopened. Everyone I went with had to arrange babysitters for this event so it was a double whammy losing money for the tickets and the pre paid sitters. Normally live nation does a great job handling these types of situations but sadly not this time. When the gates finally re opened Saturday night entry was all the sudden free and anyone and everyone was allowed to use the VIP section. The main reason we purchased VIP was to get a better/less crowded section by the stage. When given open access to VIP sections to people who didn t pay it totally defeated the purpose of VIP. I would like to see some kind of compensation

poor communication all around. lots of work needed to improve event.

Not impressed at all. Very inconvenient that gates closed and shows stopped for weather when the sun was shining. Stages too close and lines too long. Several of the acts that were "must see" canceled. Go to Music Midtown instead.

The five star rating is for the venue. We have attended this every year. We attended Saturday, got to see everyone we wanted to see and there was a manageable weather delay. Sunday, we had lunch, attended, got shut down due to weather. They didn't make everyone leave. We tried to get back to the area between the large stages but they had closed gates so could not. We left and came back around 5:00 pm to find festival in Code Red condition. Could not get in, they asked people to go to their cars. Again, not everyone. Didn't reopen until 8:45 pm but we were done. We go to lots of festivals, think communication was bad, not everyone on same page, some people allowed to stay under viaduct, others asked to leave. At Hangout, if they asked you to leave and you didn't you would be arrested. Also, have to keep in mind that we went to City Stages every year and have stood out in the rain; stood in the rain at Hangout. Understand the lightening situation, but just seemed poorly and unevenly handled. We did not get to see everyone we came to see, lost some money on the deal, will have to see about next year.

This year slossfest was a little different.. but every bit enjoyable. Due to the weather things weren t as the usually are. Unfortunately, not every band was able to play due to the weather and because of that I didn t get to see every band I was hoping for. However, that was not slossfests fault by any means. Would I still recommend this event to a friend? Absolutely. I left this festival with a smile on my face and with memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. And I wouldn t be able to say that had it not been for this festival. I think that things could have been handled a little better by the staff members of the festival, as far as politeness, but all in all I will still go every year and represent my city of Birmingham. I love slossfest and am so happy and thankful it exists!

Weather basically ruined the event. Primary reason for going--the War on Drugs--was canceled. Perhaps think of moving the fest to October-- minimizing the weather issues while avoiding competition withATL & Memphis shows.

The parts of slossfest that functioned how it should have was incredible, however, I have never been to a music festival that was so hyper-cautious to the weather. I brought rain ponchos and was prepared for Alabama's unpredictable weather. Before there was ever a raindrop or a lightning strike, they forced everyone under the bridge. I was in the middle of watching Margo Price CRUSH IT and they literally made her stop mid song and get off the stage. We stood under the bridge both days for HOURS before there was an actual weather concern. Due to this, I was unable to to see some of the main people I paid to see: Lany, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Matt Maeson, AJR, only half of Margo Price, St. Paul & the Broken Bones, etc. Although AJR performed, if you were not trapped in the shed you did not have access. Alongside this, Sloss cut all the vendors off....allowing me to be unable to get something to eat or drink during the time I was stranded there...even the vendors under the bridge. They also made no attempt to entertain the thousands of us that were cramped under the bridge. Essentially, they are going to have to have a Michael Jackson Hologram to get their following back for next year.

I came into Sloss with very high hopes, especially for the Sunday shows. My favorite bands are Rainbow Kitten Surprise and The War on Drugs, and those 2 bands are the main reasons I even bought tickets to the festival. While I know weather can not be controlled, the situation could have been handled much better. Many people at the festival were very excited for Rainbow Kitten Surprise especially, and we along with others were waiting 45 minutes early. The fact that those shows were unable to perform ruined the festival for me, especially because there was an unused stage after the shows resumed. The fact that there were 3 EDM shows playing after the weather delay and no other actual music besides Chris Stapleton was the worst move Sloss could have made. The crowd did not seem like a very EDM crowd, and I like many others did not enjoy seeing any of those 3 shows. I would love to be compensated for this absence of the best shows the festival had to offer in one way or another, as I traveled from Central Florida just to attend this festival

It was an amazing festival. I had a great time but the rain put a damper on things. I think Sloss handled it well but not in the best way possible.

Next year they need a better plan for bad weather , spent si much money on tickets to end up trapped under a bridge for a total of 5 hours over both days , and only got to see 3 bands total because so many got canceled, including 2 bands I bought tickets for.

A poorly managed festival with tons of room for improvement. I do not expect to return anytime soon which is very disappointing because the lineup was promising and the location was great. Only half of the band played (less than a fourth of the bigger names) and I plan on doing everything I can to get a refund. A waste of my money.

It was the fourth year & I ve been to all. Without a refund & major changes it will be the last. So many of the bands got scratched because of the weather, however that is not the problem. The problem is lack of communication & rudeness of staff. Staff told fans it was canceled the remainder of the day & it was not. They did not even have food or water to be sold while fans waited out the weather.

I will not be back. We did not get to see a single artist on Sunday. It was such a waste of money just sitting around waiting for them say all clear. It was literally not even raining. Very poor planning on their part. It rained the year before and all artist still played and it was a great time.

7 hours of weather delays and bands getting cancelled. Payed for 2 Iron Passes and didn t feel I got my money s worth. I understand bad weather but communication was poor and no cell service to check updates. Staff was clueless when it came to information. This was my 4th year and I m local. Just hope SlossFest redeems itself and maybe change the month the festival is held. Would also like to see on site lockers for festival goers.

Before the chaos of true disappointment began - Sloss Fest was nearly empty. No activities between bands, subpar lineup, and horribly unorganized staff/security. Then warnings of code red severe weather caused security to force EVERYONE under a bridge, while it didn t begin raining for another two hours. Although they can t control the weather, they could have at least planned for food and/or entertainment while everyone waited for 4 hours (with 0 communication on what was happening) for the storm to pass.

I know the weather played a large part in why this event didn't go as planned, but I felt that there were ways to shorten different sets or put them on your smaller stages after the rain delay the second day. I realize the EDM DJ's were headliners (video killed the radio star, and EDM killed real music), but drove from Orlando, Fl for Rainbow Kitten Surprise, War on Drugs, and St. Paul and the Broken Bones and was really disappointed to not get the opportunity to see such talented individuals, and such a broad range of different genre's of music. I think if you ever have this problem again, pick one DJ, not three, and provide some variety to your festival despite the rain delay.

I have been dying to see Arcade Fire since Reflektor Album came out and it has been worth the wait!

Great line up through out the festival. The Flaming Lips were epic and Glass Animals killed it! Food and alcohol was very expensive but that wass expected. Very limited on the art tents and fun activities to do but the iron working tent was captive. There were no local breweries involved with festival which was extremely disappointing because there are 5 awesome micro breweries in a 20 mile range. Glad I did not VIP tickets too....what a rip off!

could not be more happy with this festival!!! from the historic location to the stellar lineup and everything in between!!! Ryan Adams, Deathcab for Cutie, Flaming Lips, Ben Harper, Grouplove, Dr Dog, the Arcs, Ray Lamontagne, Fitz and the Tantrums, The Struts, Glass Animals, Shovels and Rope, Joy Formidable, and many others!!!! The hammock area was awesome, water stations everywhere!! will definitely be going back again!!!

Let me just start by saying that for a festival still in its infancy, it was extremely well organized! I didn't have a problem the entire weekend. The stages were in good areas, and the way they tiered the acts you could stay in your spot at one stage to catch an act you wanted to see while still being able to hear the current act on the opposite stage. Because of how they were organized there was no sound bleeding because there was no overlapping. All the acts went on on time, with the exception of the later Sunday night acts such as The Arcs, The Flaming Lips and Ray LaMontagne due to rain and having to be pushed back, but they all went onstage on time according to the new schedule. It was exceptionally clean as well. There was a garbage crew picking up after almost every set and constantly checking the many garbage cans around the grounds. They had plenty of water stations, misting tents and shaded areas. Sloss Fest had a decent variety of food vendors. I also have to applaud those in charge with how they dealt with the massive monsoon that took place Sunday afternoon. They didn't evacuate, but they did urge everyone to take cover under the bridge, and everyone obliged. They were reasonable and didn't make us wait there any longer than absolutely necessary. Pretty much everyone I encountered was very nice and, for a festival, there was relatively no pushing and shoving during the sets and everyone basically respected one another's space. I am extremely impressed. Sloss Fest ran like a well-oiled machine and it's only its second year. I have a feeling that if they keep churning out great lineups and the price stays reasonably low like it was then I will never hesitate to return to Sloss Fest!

I love the music and how the stages are set up. You can stay in one place and see and hear both stages. The shed stage was also nice to get out of the heat.

Really well put together festival. Really proud of Birmingham! St. Paul and the broken bones was incredible.

This festival was incredible. The location could not have been better. I was awestruck by the iron smelting displays and use of actual historic buildings like the shed for a stage. It was easy to navigate and get from stage to stage. The staff was very kind and helpful. Parking and exiting this venue was also very easy. I highly recommend this festival!

Sloss Music and Arts Festival far surpassed my expectations. I could not believe the large turnout. Birmingham is definitely ready for a festival of this magnitude! The line up was wonderful. There were a lot of big names we all love along with some great new talent! PLEASE MAKE THIS AN ANUAL EVENT!

Slossfest was fantastic. The furnaces provided an epic background to the great miso we had. Shows ran perfectly on time. It was crazy hot but the security guys randomly sprayed the audience with water hoses which helped A LOT. I will definitely be checking the lineup next year.

A very green festival, amazing location, amazing city, the best music, fantastic vendors, I love Birmingham and I look forward to going to Sloss every year.

I loved every minute of it! Can't wait til next year.

This was by far the coolest thing to ever happen to Birmingham and I am planning to go back every single year. Whoever's idea it was to have it at Sloss Furnace is a genius because it adda a perfect rustic feel to the entire festival. Sloss is Boss.

This was a terrible event. I understand they could not control the weather. However, we missed 3 of the bands we were there for. I m not sure why everything just didn t get pushed back after the delays or some kind of rescheduling didn t happen. Also, the first day one of the security guys was telling everyone it was canceled for the day (which it wasn t) and was being a complete asshole to everyone. A lot of people left after they were told that then later on we were told we would be left back in later. The line was so long to get back in that many people didn t make it back in to see the bands that were playing. Also on the first day, the bad weather passed quickly but for some reason we still had to sit outside of the gates for over an hour when it was completely sunny out. I m not sure why the delay was so long. It was all in all a poorly planned event. This was my first time attending this music festival and will definitely be my last.

After all the rain delays they then just let everyone enter for free.....so why did I buy a ticket? Miss a lot of the bands I want see because of the rain delays too. Had an oversaturation of high school kids. Don't want to go to show and be around a bunch of drunk high schoolers. Waste of my money. Wont be back.

I only got to see 1 full act because of cancellations. I had at least 10 people/bands I wanted to see perform and didn t get to see any of them because they were all cancelled. (Actually, I only saw the last 15 minutes of Quinn XCII because I was standing in line to get in for 45 minutes) the communication was terrible, majority of the acts got cancelled. It wasn t worth the money I spent. I don t have a lot of money so just essentially throwing away $150 like that really hurts.

This isn t worth my energy. Rain or shine...unless it may potentially rain and then it s fend for yourself.

While the weather can t be controlled, how crowds are directed and information is shared can. Saturday, I didn t even see any bands. Once I arrived, there was a 3.5 hour weather delay and complete miscommunication outside the venue. We were told to go home.

The line to get into sloss wasn t efficient. We got there in plenty of time to see bands perform but we missed a lot of them because the line wasn t moving fast enough. I understand the weather can t be helped, but you can make it more accommodating for guests who have to stay under the bridge. I bought a 2 day ticket and I left at 6 on Sunday after being there all day and not seeing anyone perform since they were delayed so late. It was a waste of money, considering I only watched Vance Joy out of all the performers that were there.

Slossfest got a tuff break this year with the weather, but the artists that did get to preform were fantastic, The employees and staff were on the top of their game in moving people in and out,and in again,and out again, and all the while maintaining a level of professionalism.Great venue,great lineup ,lesson learned;Mother Nature always wins .

Spent too much money to be kicked out due to rain and no refund. I did not actually hear 1 artist- tho they did re open late in the evening for their headliner.

SLOSS left me fairly disappointed. I understand that there were concerns of severe rain, but corralling us under "sheltered areas" for 2+ hours, not allowing us to purchase food or drinks during this time, then telling us to leave, and again telling us to come back within 20-30 minutes after I had ordered an Uber and gotten about 5 minutes away from the venue, was enraging. I felt that not only my time was wasted, but also my money. I should note that on the first day, after these events took place, many artists and bands were cancelled, leaving only a few, mainly the evening headliners to perform. The second day was similar, but instead of waiting in the heat, pressed up against my fellow SLOSS goers like cattle for multiple hours, I went back to my rental and enjoyed having a meal and beverages there, while sitting in A/C. The second day, SLOSS did a somewhat better job of keeping us updated regarding the rain and their plans to maintain the festival. However, I found it ridiculous that they, again, failed to send everyone home while the "severe weather" passed. We were all looking at the same weather radar and could easily determine that with the lightning being a significant issue, that the festival would remain on hold. When we finally received the go-ahead to come back and enjoy the last 2-3 hours of the festival, we returned to again* only watch a few of the major artists. SLOSS sent an email on 7/16 stating that they would be sending me a survey and it is now 7/20. No solution has been provided for the lack of artists that performed. I am hoping to receive a refund for at least half of my 2-day ticket cost.

I ve been to Sloss Fest all but one year it has existed. It is top notch. The layout is perfect, the lineups have been solid, the non-music activities diverse and unique. This year with weather was special... Outdoor music festivals in Alabama during July are brave but that s ok. Just make sure the staff and security know the plan and safety measures and are on the same page. Communication and confidence in plan execution is so important in those situations.

I was there for almost 4 hours Sunday and I was a iron pass member. What bands did I get to hear? None. I stood under a bridge the whole time l. It could of been handled completely.

The rain was just unfortunate and not much you can do bout that. The music I was able to hear was good but it wasn't worth what I paid. I would recommend to a friend because if it hadn't of rained it would have been a lot of fun but sloss either needs to have a better rain delay solution or offer discounts or something to everyone who paid for a full day and only got to here 3 bands.

It was a waste of money and time. We drove almost two hours. There was a delay for weather. Lack of communication and nowhere safe to go for the three hour delay. Never again.

It is an outdoor festival and summer weather in Alabama is crazy so be prepared. It's hot and it will most likely storm at some point causing interruptions in the day. Definitely recommend buying the ticket insurance for this purpose. Sloss is a great festival though. It has a great lineup with a good number of extra activites to do. All the acts start on time, sound quality is great, and the lighting for the night time performers is impressive. The food and drink options are really good too.

i had fun while i got to listen to music and walk around but unfortunately i spent most of my time under the bridge. i understand that there was nothing that the planners of the event could do i just wish i had known it was gonna be that way before i wasted $150

A great event made a little less great by summer storms. Not much that can be done about the weather, but hoping that alternative measures are put in place so people don't have to completely leave the grounds during a lightning alert. Even despite delays, had a great time and saw some outstanding performances! I love the venue, it's just so cool to wander around and know there's so much history there. Love ya, Sloss!

It was very unorganized. From the time we walked through the gate, they forgot to give us our Iron Passes and we went through the Iron gate. Uninformative when weather delayed/ canceled some shows.

Well. It wasn t much of a music festival... considering there wasn t very much music... unless you count the distant ambiance of lighting and thunder.

2 vip tix- $760. Ended up seeing two bands. I really wish sloss would have offered something\u2014 maybe a discounted ticket to next years event to make up for how much we missed out on because of the weather. Very disappointed and will not be purchasing tickets next year. I ll probbaly try to sneak in and get free vip wrist bands like everyone else did.

I ve gone to sloss the past 2 years, and last year and year before that there was rain. I understand that thunder and lightning is unsafe and I thank sloss a million for wanting to keep us safe. I believe on Saturday they did not handle the situation correctly. We should have been provided with any type of food to buy, and water to buy (or to have without paying since so much of our money was wasted sitting on the dirty ground) Sunday was handled better. They had music playing under the bridge for everyone as entertainment, and were updating us as we wanted. No matter what happened though I still had an amazing weekend and am so thankful that sloss does this every year bc I love the enviorment and all the different people that come together. Thank you sloss fest, no matter what we love you and can t Wsit for next year!!!!! Maybe switch to a different month bc July is full of bad weather !!!!

Firstly, the venue is surrounded by metal and trains and held in July. It's always rainy in July. The first day we were held in either a stuffy METAL warehouse or under a bridge for 3 hours due to "lightning in the area" after the skies were almost completely cleared we were evacuated! 4-5 hours of missed shows due to a ridiculous call. I agree the second day was bad but 5 hours? I am so disappointed that I only got to see 4 shows the whole time and paid $150 plus gas and hotels and food. Never again will I be back.

Louis the child let everyone have the most fun ever

Money spent was completely out wasted. Got there at 5pm to see the evening performances. Event parking quickly took money to park even though they had announced to no one could enter due to approaching weather. After 2 hours of hearing the same announcement of we are watching the situation and being told by rude staff to hang under a bridge for protection we left for food hoping to come back. Over 4 hours later an update of all the bands we hoped to see were canceled except for the ones on each stage. We will chalk it up to lesson learned, but I hope that the appropriate people will make a decision to at least give partial refunds. I understand trying to get everyone back in quickly, but for those of us that paid money to go to the event it is disheartening to know so many people were allowed in without tickets.

Mostly rained out, had to wait hours Saturday and Sunday to finally be evacuated in the middle of pouring rain and constant cloud to ground lightning

Venue neat. Rain... not so much:( i wish we had waited until the storm was more imminent or Llowed water sales under the viaduct. 3.5 hours is a long delay and major headliners did not play.

I went with two friends to Sloss Festival 2018. We bought two day tickets before hand. Many people were let in for free and my ticket was not scanned by security on the second day of the festival. Not to mention barely scanning/searching the people coming in. Also, I understand that management can not control inclement weather but they can control how it is handled. Security was misinformed, staff urged everyone to check social media and an app that sent no updates. Cell phones do not work well at festivals and updates should ve been announced and staff updated. People sat under a bridge for hours without updates and Sloss chose to cancel MANY of the bands we paid to see. Will not be back.

I think that this festival has so much potential. It was my first year at Sloss and had an amazing time on the beginning of Saturday, but once we had to evacuate due to "lightning" it was just chaos. I waited three hours to get back into the festival and some of my favorite bands that I paid the money and spent time driving to Birmingham to see live. The same thing happened on Sunday but for nearly six hours, and so many more bands were canceled. I can't help but feel upset and this definitely hampered my experience, but I think if there hadn't been rain the festival would have been one of the best live music events I've ever experienced (and I've been to Coachella). Arcade Fire was absolutely incredible, there are no words. However, I'm not sure that I would go again next year just out of fear for this happening again. I don't think the festival administration handled everything too well, especially in regards to communication with the event-goers. I would really appreciate at least a partial refund just so that they acknowledge that this is not the experience they intended to put on. I would be more inclined to come back knowing that Sloss would work super hard to make their customers more confident in their abilities and dedication to putting on the ultimate live music experience.

The concept seems amazing; however, due to weather I barely got to see the bands I wanted to see. I only got to see two on Sunday which was after being told to seek shelter and then finally evacuated until 9:15pm.

Overall, unhappy with my experience. While the weather delays were understandable, the communication was poor. Ended up driving 400 miles to see one band I wanted to see as the other bands were canceled on Sunday. I will not be returning for this festival, nor would I recommend Sloss Fest to friends. Would like to receive a refund (even if partial), but doubt that will happen.

I want to see RKS really bad so like get me tickets thanks

This festival was run poorly, the staff handled the weather situation like a bunch of toddlers. Also why was there so much EDM?!?

great event! The weather sucked but that s nobodys fault! People who let that ruin their day need to learn to roll with the punches!

The festival was laid out well and I really liked the lineup (some great country, a couple fun electronic acts, could ve used more hip-hop but the ones they had fit well), and the rustic remnants of the sloss furnace were surprisingly welcoming (I usually find old abandoned industrial things to be kind of depressing but this had something special about it that gave me an appreciation of the human ingenuity that went into it). Unfortunately some bad weather hit both days in the afternoon forcing the festival to close down (makes sense when half the festival grounds are metal and lightning is hitting close) and that sent all of us festgoers either moping together in the mugginess under the bridge or scrambling around Birmingham looking for food and drinks but not really enjoying them because we really just wanted to get back to the fest. I still got to see all the acts I came for (Margo Price got cut halfway through her set, but she d already blown my mind in 30 minutes) so I can t complain too much, but I do wish I had more time to explore the grounds and soak in the good vibes.

Sloss was the absolute best weekend of my life. It was such a great atmosphere and I loved every minute of the music. However, I still think something needs to be done about all of the fans missing multiple bands because of weather. I understand the Sloss Staff couldn t help the weather but I also think it is their job to make up for the money a lot of people paid.

Since it has rained out several things this year and last, maybe we should move the dates of the event?? There were SOOOO many good acts we missed due to the weather. And while I know we can't control the weather, it may be a good idea to have Sloss Fest at a different time of the year where its less rainy!!

They canceled the majority of their shows due to "bad weather" when it was not thundering, lightning or even raining. Piss poor communication from the staff to the attendees. Did not allow people to leave the venue until the thunderstorms arrived about 2 hours after they held us with no food, drinks, or even restroom breaks. To be frank, you can get a lot more for your money if you go to another festival.