The closest thing to Coachella in Malaysia is the Good Vibes Festival, which returns this year on 21 July.
Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the homegrown music and lifestyle festival is going big with a lineup of artists that promises to be its best yet.
The Grammy Award-winning rock band The Strokes, Billboard Music Award-winner The Kid LAROI, and singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter are just a few of the international artists on the lineup.
English rock sensation The 1975 will also be back for their second visit to Good Vibes to jam out to their favorites as well as showcase their newest works. ALYPH, Dermot Kennedy, Dhruv, DPR Ian, Giveon, Gryffin, NxWorries, Peach Tree Rascals, Porter Robinson, and RINI are among the other international acts.
But there’s just one slight issue – the ticket prices – which many social media users say are exorbitantly priced.
A look on its website shows that a 3-day ticket for Phase 1 would cost RM788 (US$178), Phase 2 RM888, and Phase 3 RM988. Really, in this economy?
In 2019, GVF’s most expensive general admission ticket was priced at RM450 net, although it was only a two-day festival back then, whereas this year’s edition has been increased to three.
Regardless, social media users are saying it’s giving them bad vibes in this economy, while some hold the opinion that the lineup is not worth the money.
Some also complained about how the prices have doubled since the first festival was held in 2013.
There were also those who compared the festival to the renowned Coachella event.
“Bringing festivals back is great but please don’t rip people off. Give free water, make people bring their own bottles, sustainable. No plastic waste everywhere,” Shasha (not her real name), a frequent festival-goer told Coconuts.
“They ask people to bring cash when the RM788 can easily provide wrist tags that act as a debit card. I have been to festivals abroad and this some garbage shit,” she added.
Meanwhile, in GVF’s defense, the festival increased its duration to three days with much bigger acts and a longer lineup than previous years.
“In this competitive market, this comes at a price. Apart from that, the costs of running the festival in general (artists, suppliers, production, etc) have also increased significantly,” Julia Taslim, the public relations representative for GVF told Coconuts today.
“However, if compared to festival ticket prices in the region, it is still very reasonable (and one of the lowest!) especially when we look at the number of acts festival goers get to watch,” she said.
ALSO CHECK OUT:
