A week after Sepia Times and The Sundown gave a statement online about how they were taken out of the set during the Wavy Baby Music Festival, Now James Reid and the organizers gave their own statements.
The Cebu-based musicians were scheduled to play last January 13, in the afternoon segment of the program line-up. This move has led to public discourse regarding the treatment of local artists, who in this example have a huge following at that.
James Reid gave an explanation of why he still went ahead with the event in a video that was uploaded to Instagram.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to our Cebu artists … for not being able to share the stage with you this time but thank you for allowing us to come and through this amazing experience. I promise we’ll make it up to you, you guys are all legends, thank you.”
Wavy Baby Music Festival also gave out its own statement on the event.
“The 2-day event had its share of logistical challenges due to unforeseen circumstances, and for this, we sincerely apologize. Our event venue, staging, and programming were significantly impacted due to the poor weather conditions all over Cebu. Given the extreme condition of the event venue that we had to remedy, our team and local partners were stretched as we prioritized the safety and security of everyone,”
“We also had to comply with sudden regulations to strictly end Day 1 and Day 2 earlier than expected. This forced us to immediately compress show time, resulting to several bands being unable to perform, including some Manila and international artists, not just Cebu bands. We would like to stress that it was never our intention to insult the international, Cebu, and Manila artists who have graciously accepted our invitation,”
“Nonetheless, we apologize to everyone, especially to the affected artists and their disappointed fans. We pride ourselves in mounting world-class events and have done countless of outdoor festivals. What transpired during this festival was definitely not up to the standards we uphold for ourselves,”
“We hear you and we appreciate your feedback. We would like to assure you that our team is working on resolving these issues. We take this opportunity to learn and improve. We hope for your patience and understanding.”