Major NJ Music Festival Cancels 2023 Lineup After Permit Debacle

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - The Bamboozle music festival, a three-day concert event poised to feature the likes of Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie in Atlantic City next month, announced Friday that it will cancel this year’s festivities. The announcement came just one week before the festival start date.

Mayday Parade, Saves The Day, Say Anything, Flyleaf and Steve Aoki were also scheduled to perform at the event, which was slated to take place from May 5 to 7 at Bader Field.

“After extensive discussions, we have made the heartbreaking decision to cancel Bamboozle 2023,” festival organizers wrote in an Instagram post. “An incredible amount of time, dedication, passion and hard work was invested into making this comeback a success. We appreciate everyone who supported this festival. Refunds should be requested at point of purchase.”

Atlantic City officials noted that the city would not issue a final permit to festival organizers after management failed to submit required documents by the city’s deadline.

“There was an ongoing concern that we were not getting the required documents from festival organizers in a timely manner,” Atlantic City Business Administrator Anthony Swan said in a Friday afternoon statement. “We asked for this information months in advance to protect the city and the taxpayers of Atlantic City. The event was fast approaching, and these issues were still unresolved.”

According to Swan’s statement, the city solicitor’s office sent a letter on April 20 informing him of the April 27 deadline to submit necessary documentation. While Bamboozle’s attorney acknowledged that they did receive the letter, Swan said, the documents were still not received.

“The April 27th deadline passed, and the attorney for the festival organizers has been notified … that the event is canceled consistent with our prior notice,” Swan added.

Festival founder John D'Esposito also told USA Today that slow ticket sales and other “hurdles” prevented organizers from producing “ the experience the Bamboozle was known for.”

The festival started in 2003 under the moniker The Great Bamboozle at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. It quickly grew over the years to feature artists like Patti Smith, My Morning Jacket, My Chemical Romance and Sonic Youth and span a national tour with an outpost in Irvine, California. Notably, the 2011 concert tour was canceled before it started.

The festival failed to make its annual return after 2012’s 10-year anniversary Bamboozle festival, which featured the likes of Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance, Mac Miller and Bon Jovi. In 2021, D’Esposito, of Old Bridge, revived the festival in a Facebook page announcement, via NJ.com:

“18 years ago, we created an event on Myspace - for its 20th anniversary we are inviting back some old friends, introducing everyone to new friends and will no doubt, redefine a scene and once again rise to the top of the festival world.”