Fans Irate After Authorities Shut Down Cruel World Festival in Pasadena Over Thunder Storm Warning

Written by AARON CASTREJON
CityWatch Editor

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PASADENA - The threat of lightning, strong winds and hail forced the evacuation of the Cruel World Music Festival Saturday night, leaving many fans irate since the storm never hit Pasadena.

Just after 9 p.m., a strong thunderstorm was detected near Mt. Wilson moving southwest to between Pasadena and Monrovia. Forecasters predicted the storm would produce wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour, brief heavy downpours, frequent lightning and pea-sized hail, according to the National Weather Service.

Cruel World was taking place at Brookside near the Pasadena Bowl.

“At the direction of Pasadena Fire Department, the venue was evacuated due to unsafe weather conditions and lightning strikes in the area, verified by the National Weather Service,” in a statement posted to the Cruel World website.

Famed rocker Iggy Pop was in the middle of a music set when the audio was cut to the fans’ dismay. An announcer stated severe weather was approaching the festival site and attendees needed to evacuate.

“If I don’t get a refund I’m about to file a chargeback because the event “was not as described or defective.” Tickets clearly state “RAIN OR SHINE” which in turn only resulted in one lightning bolt so far in the distance that cancelled especially when there was NO RAIN!!!” wrote one attendee.

“I’m not buying it. There was more shelter IN the event than there was in the wide open golf course where we all got aimlessly herded to for nearly an hour. Something is fishy, because there was no storm in the additional hour it took to even leave the parking lot,” wrote another attendee.

“I can’t believe a few distant lightning strikes shut this whole thing down. Between the Adam Ant no show and abruptly cutting Iggy Pop mid performance and killing the headliner Siouxsie’s performance (the reason many of us were there) this show was a shit show,” another attendee wrote.

Others were more understanding.

“From noon until 9 PM Cruel World was a fabulous show. We missed a band and a half for lightning people saw. Safety first. I will return for Cruel World 2024,” one attendee wrote.

British New Wave singer and musician Gary Numan issued a statement on the day’s events

“This morning our bus broke down on the way to the Cruel World festival so we were about 4 hours late arriving. Our set went incredibly well though, amazing crowd, got to see some great bands and more than a few old friends. But, the festival was cut short (due to lightning apparently) and everyone evacuated. Sadly Siouxsie was not allowed to play. It was a somewhat bizarre and disappointing end to what had been a really good day. Not sure what the end result will be. Thank you to everyone that came to watch us play today. We had the best time.”

The predicted storm briefly hit the Arcadia and Monrovia areas before quickly dissipating.

Festival organizers promised that Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees and that Iggy Pop will perform Sunday, May 21, with Siouxsie slated to perform an extended set for her only North American performance for 2023.

The National Weather Service predicts a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms before 11 a.m. and before 11 p.m. Sunday, May 21. Much of the day is expected to be partly cloudy with a high near 79 degrees.