A set of Ulster County organizers are being sued by the State Attorney General for keeping $261,000 in ticket sales and vendor fees after canceling a three-day electronic dance music and arts festival last year at a Caneadea campground.
Letetia James is alleging that Evolutions Festival and 845 Vibrations and their principals, Micheal and Justin Brown, pocketed $243,000 in advance tickets sold to more than 500 people, along with more than $21,000 in vendor fees, for the September 2025 event which was billed for the Sugar Mountain Campgrounds off East Hill Road.
The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in Ulster County, seeks restitution for all ticket holders and vendors, civil penalties, and an order preventing the promoters from holding future events in New York State unless they provide a $500,000 bond.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) launched an investigation into the event after receiving multiple consumer complaints about the festival’s failure to issue refunds.
It said Evolutions Festival, promoted as an enhanced three-day weekend of music, arts, and camping, had been held previously in Afton in Chenago and Pattersonville in Schenectady counties, with organizers claiming that the 2025 event would be “even better, touting A-list headliners, new so-called ‘glamping’ options, immersive on-site experiences, and diverse international food offerings.”
It said the festival lineup included popular artists including Allison Wonderland, Of the Trees, and Flowdan.
Tickets went on sale on March 20, of last year, according to the OAG, with prices ranging from around $200 to more than $700, with consumers also able to purchase camping, parking, transportation, and other add-ons.
In total, it claims, organizers collected $243,158.04 in advance ticket sales through 1,157 tickets purchased by 521 individuals, and also charged vendors advance fees ranging from $650 to $1,150 for a planned “vendor village,” which brought in $21,662.75 from 28 small businesses.
On August 26, 2025, only 10 days before the festival was scheduled to begin, the Attorney General claims that Evolutions Festival announced on social media that the event was being “postponed,” with organizers saying the venue had not secured the necessary permitting for the festival, and as a result, the event was unable to move forward as planned.
Despite the cancellation, the OAG alleges that Evolutions Festival did not offer refunds to ticket purchasers, in violation of state laws, with only 11 of the 521 ticket purchasers receiving refunds by contacting their credit card companies in a timely manner and disputing the charges.
A copy of the complaint is available at https://tinyurl.com/Evolutions-Festival-Complaint.