File photo: Fans at III Points Music Festival at Mana Wynwood in 2021.
Miami Herald File
The opening of the III Points fest sounded a sour note for thousands of fans who poured into Wynwood for a weekend of music only to experience ticketing issues, delays and chaos among the crowd.
Problems on Friday night with new wristbands triggered long lines and safety issues at what could be the final run for the alternative music festival at its home for a decade, Mana Wynwood. Rainy conditions didn’t help matters, and more stormy weather is forecast again for the second night of the fest.
The two-day music festival runs through early Sunday morning and was expecting about 40,000 fans a day.
READ MORE: Headed to Wynwood this weekend? Get ready for traffic-palooza
This year, III Points rolled out a new ticketing system with radio frequency wristbands. Ticketing tech issues led to hours-long lines and frustrated fans.
The wristbands use an embedded chip that communicates wirelessly with “a special scanner, which experienced unexpected technical problems during will-call pickup, and caused delays in entry,” festival organizers said Saturday in a statement on Instagram.
Beyond the long wait, festivalgoers say the delays caused unsafe crowd conditions, and led many to exit the event’s opening night.
“I witnessed people get trampled, people passing out and crying because they couldn’t breathe and couldn’t get out of that mob,” Maria Paula A. commented under III Points’ Oct. 17 post.
“I was unable to move for 40 minutes and tried to get out of the crowd three times, with no staff members managing or controlling the situation” wrote Daniel Cortés, who added that after a four-hour wait, he “abandoned the so-called ‘line’ for my own safety.”
Another festival frequenter, Gloria Gabrielle, said she had “never seen something like this in my life.”
Performers weren’t spared either, with several forced to perform in the rain without covering for both artists and their equipment.
A social media clip shows Brazil-based DJ Roddy Lima dangling a pair of soaked headphones while his turntables got soaked in the background. British DJ Ben Sterling, who performed at the event’s main stage Friday night, paused his set to tell fans “the rain [expletive] the deck.”
III Points says it’s fixing the issues for the festival’s final night.
“Miami, we are preparing to serve you today,” the festival announced in an Oct. 17 Instagram statement detailing new safety and ticket measures. “Your experience is our priority, and we want to make sure you feel heard.”
The festival says it’s replacing all the wristbands with an easy-access barcode for general admission will-call purchasers, and is adding additional staff and ticket lanes. It’s also clearing the event’s main entrance area to avoid overcrowding and “make more room for queues and flow.”
The festival also says it’s all ears for attendees who didn’t make it inside the venue Friday night, adding that staff is “actively processing and responding to all refund requests and feedback about your experience last night.”
Festival organizers are asking fans to reach out to info@iiipoints.com and provide their order number “to find the right solution for you.”
One issue the festival may not have control over: the weather. There’s a 90% chance of rain in Miami on Saturday night.
Ticket problems and rain aside, this could be the last III Points at the site.
Last month, billionaire and Citadel CEO Ken Griffin bought Mana Wynwood for $1.1 billion and then announced the land would be donated for a new Carnegie Mellon University Miami campus. Construction could begin next year before a 2028 opening.
Pembroke Pines News
Isabel Rivera covers growth and development in Miami-Dade County and how both affect local communities. She graduated from Florida International University (go Panthers!), speaks Spanish and was born and raised in the 305. Her last meal on death row would include a cortadito.