Co-promoter of The Meadows outdoor concert venue, Buena Vista’s Jed Selby, attended a recent Chaffee County Commissioners meeting to share concerns from attendees of this past August’s King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard three-day festival.
In an article dated Oct. 21st on Spin Magazine’s website Live for Music, it was reported that Selby shared frustrations from fans posted on social media and with in-person interactions with sheriff’s deputies throughout the duration of the festival. He told the commissioners, “In ten years of doing shows here, we’ve never had this response from our crowd.” He further added that he predicts ticket sales will drop for future King Gizzard festivals if the issue is not resolved.
In response to promoters proposing an increase on the ticket limit for the festival, the Chaffee County Sheriff has recommended more of a deputy presence, citing his report of 25 arrests during the 2026 event, including 23 drug arrests, and 121 fire restriction violation tickets during the stage 2 fire restrictions which made it illegal to smoke outdoors. Defying the noise curfews and poor sanitary conditions were also cited in the report.
Selby and organizers proposed amending the current event permit that allows the festival to take place through 2027 by hiring a private security firm to handle safety duties rather than the sheriff’s office. The security firm would work with the sheriff on an as-needed basis. Selby asserted that the 2027 event would not happen without this change in security.
In response, the Commissioners have scheduled another public meeting for November 10th, where they will discuss Meadow Creek’s petition to increase capacity, extend the curfew, raise sound decibel limits, and amend the security agreement.
Photo courtesy https://www.meadowcreekco.com/
