Askern Music Festival: Storms, traffic chaos and queues as show ends amid angry scenes

Thousands of music lovers descended on this year’s spectacular at its new home of Thornhurst Manor near Askern yesterday – but many were left upset after a string of issues, including reports of three hour queues at the bar.

And bad weather caused headliners Razorlight to cut short their set, with lead singer Johnny Borrell screaming into the microphone: “This is the biggest load of bulls*** I’ve ever heard!” as fans began booing as the plug was pulled.

Organisers had earlier apologised to revellers over ‘extensive wait times’ at the bar as well as issues with card machines across the site.

As the show – which also featured sets from The Enemy, former Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan and Space - ended, festival goers then faced queues of up to two hours to exit the car park.

One fan fumed: “The worst organised festival I have ever been to.

"That was awful. From the beer queue to the toilet queue to actually being able to leave the venue. Somebody needs a shake up and think about how to organise a proper festival.

"Last year was brilliant. What happened?”

Problems began soon after the event opened yesterday morning, with customers struggling to pay with numerous vendors reporting card reader signal issues.

Acknowleding the issue, an AMF spokesman said: “We hope you're having a great day so far. If you are en route to AMF 2023, please consider grabbing some cash to spend on-site.

"Connections to our card machines are dropping in and out - that's the struggle of live music in a field!

“Thank you for your patience.”

As thousands of fans descended on the golf club, massive queues built up at the beer tent, with lines of exasperated drinkers snaking around the site.

Posting on the festival’s Facebook page, one said: “Absolutely shocking facilities and organisation. Was there six hours and spent three and half hours of it queuing at the bar.

"Totally and utterly unacceptable! Needs a massive change next year to win us back.”

Another said: “Abysmal. I feel so sorry for the acts without the audience they deserve because people were stuck in queues."

While another added: “Not entirely sure what happened today but 2.5 hours to get served at the bar is ridiculous, Bands cut short, getting out afterwards was absolute carnage.

"Appreciate the challenges but it spoilt the whole experience. Never been before but unlikely to return.”

Organisers told fans: “We want to extend our apologies for the extensive wait times at the bar so far today. We understand your frustrations completely and the inconvenience it has caused. We assure you that we are working tirelessly to address the issue and expedite the service for the remainder of the festival.”

There were also reports of lengthy queues for toilets – and the festival ended on a sour note as Razorlight were forced to abandon their set.

With rain falling and flashes of lightning and thunder rumbling across the skies, power was pulled for safety issues leading lead singer Borrell to launch an angry attack.

He yelled: “We’ve been told to stop playing because of thunder and lightning.”

As the crowd began booing the decision, he screamed: “Isn’t that what rock and roll is about? This is the biggest load of bulls*** I’ve ever heard!”

Sarcastically defying organisers, he leapt offstage and said: “I’m coming to come down here with you among all this ‘thunder and lightning,’ before leading brief audience singalongs of the band’s hits Somewhere Else and America as the rest of the group walked off stage.

Then, to add to the chaos, festival goers were met with lengthy queues to exit the car park – with some drivers stuck in their vehicles for up to two hours after the show ended at around 10.15pm.

One fumed: “A complete f*** up compared to last year,” while another posted: “First and last time I will ever go to this event. Absolutely horrendous organisation. Horrendous day out never again!”

Another added: “Leaving the car park was horrendous don't even know why there was a hold up! 75 minutes sat in a queue of traffic! Madness. I loved the bands but the bar service and leaving the site was just so bad.”

There are unconfirmed reports that a pedestrian leaving the site was struck by a car on the nearby A19, with emergency services at the scene reportedly adding to delays as festivalgoers attempted to get home. We have asked South Yorkshire Police for more details.

But some fans defended organisers, blaming the issues on ‘teething problems.’

One said: “Fantastic show. The Enemy were worth standing in the rain with no beer for! Great day out if you know how to have a good time.”

Another wrote: “Cracking day, despite the problems. No festival is without hiccups. Loved every second, great line up! Seeing as people dont want to forgive the teething problems, we will happily stand on our own at the front next year.”

And another shared: “Well what a fabulous day we had - great music, company – amazing.”

The day included performances from number one indie band The Lottery Winners and 90s Britpop stars Space. who led fans on a nostalgia trip with hits such as The Female Of The Species, Neighbourhood and The Ballad Of Tom Jones.

Former Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan, whose inclusion on the bill sparked some contoversy after his conviction for domestic assault, also led the crowd through a hit packed set of songs such as Empire, Fire and Shoot The Runner.

Meighan, who left the band in 2020 after a "sustained assault" on fiancee Vikki Ager which left her bruises on her knees, elbow, and ankle, as well as red marks around her neck, blamed the attack on alcohol addiction, an ADHD diagnosis and mental health issues.

He later married Vikki, who was present at yesterday’s show. Wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan ‘Love You’ adorned with a raised middle finger, Meighan addressed his conviction and told the crowd: “I’ve been through all sorts of s*** in my life in the last few years. Listen, s*** happens,” shouting ‘luv ya,’ to his wife at the side of the stage.

The festival, which had been held at Askern Cricket Club until this year, also featured acoustic sets from former Cast and The La’s guitarist John Power and former Inspiral Carpets frontman Tom Hingley.