The Good Vibes Festival is set to return this July in Malaysia following its cancellation last year due to The 1975 controversy. The festival’s days two and three were cancelled last year after the band’s frontman, Matty Healy, criticised Malaysian government and its anti-LGBTQ laws, kissed bassist Ross MacDonald and was subsequently cut short on stage. Good Vibes is produced by Future Sound Asia and is expected to showcase a number of artists such as J Balvin, Peggy Gou, Joji, BIBI, and Malaysian performers who had their act cut from last year’s event.
Wan Alman, director of entertainment at Future Sound Asia, commented on the difficulty of booking artists for festivals around the world and the challenges he has faced with booking acts within a limited budget. While Alman admits that last year’s incident still plays a role in the selection of acts, it has not caused problems with booking agents. He believes that booking agents have understood that what happened was an isolated incident since the event has been running for several years without issue.
The Good Vibes Festival was featured in international headlines last year due to the controversy surrounding The 1975’s performance. The band’s performance was cut short after the lead singer made comments on Malaysia’s governments anti-LGBTQ laws. Despite the controversy, the Malaysian government has been supportive of the festival’s return, working with the festival’s event producers to ensure that SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) are in place for future events.
Responding to questions about rebuilding trust within the community, Alman commented that when they announced their refund process last year, they included a number of options to show fans that they were taking action to right the wrongs of the event
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