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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Indie rock showcase Bartfest canceled

Nathan Weinbender

Bartfest, the Bartlett’s annual music festival that was scheduled for the first weekend of October, has been canceled. The venue’s owners, Caleb and Karli Ingersoll, announced its cancellation on Facebook today, citing a lack of ticket sales.

“Canceling is definitely a self-protective move,” they wrote. “If people don’t buy tickets, our venue is put at risk because festivals are based on guarantees only and not percentages of ticket sales.”

Bartfest had struggled with attendance issues in the past. Last year, Karli Ingersoll told The Spokesman-Review that the festival had been downsized, both in lineup size and admission price, to attract bigger crowds.

“We’ve already pre-sold almost more than what we sold over the whole festival last year,” she said in 2015.

In what was to be its third year, Bartfest 2016 boasted a lineup that included such acts as Beat Connection, Tangerine, White Reaper and Soft Sleep. Twin Peaks and TOPS, two of the festival’s scheduled bands, will still perform in Spokane on Oct. 1, and tickets are currently available for those shows.

“Bartfest may re-emerge at some point, but for now we are going to focus on what we feel the most confident in – bringing in really great bands weekly and giving them a great space to play in,” the Ingersolls wrote.

All purchased festival passes will be refunded.