Wicked Oaks Shares Statement After Weather Issues and Medical Emergency Rumors

Wicked Oaks, the new Disco Presents festival at Carson Creek Ranch outside of Austin, was hit hard by severe weather across its opening weekend, entry delays, a Saturday night site-wide evacuation and scrambled logistics that left its organizers issuing refunds and reimbursements.

Organizers say Friday’s camping access was delayed because forecasts predicted heavy rain, lightning and flash floods. Saturday’s gates opened three hours late and an unexpected storm at about 10pm prompted the evacuation when conditions became unsafe. Sunday’s program resumed after damage mitigation work and a brief delay, with a free shuttle added from Circuit of the Americas because many parking areas were flooded.

Disco Presents and Wicked Oaks’ official statement also addressed medical response. Austin-Travis County EMS and licensed on-site medical teams were present throughout the weekend, and EMS reported seven hospital transports across the weekend while noting they weren’t aware of any deaths or critically ill patients among those taken from the festival grounds.

The organizers acknowledged a tragic off-site vehicle collision in Bastrop involving festivalgoers traveling home. With the family’s permission, they identified the person who died as Anthony Pike and extended condolences; organizers said the crash appears to have resulted from a truck running a red light.

To address disruption and attendee losses, Wicked Oaks laid out this refund plan: full refunds for single-day Saturday tickets, 50% refunds for two-day passes and certain parking, full refunds for Saturday shuttles, and a process to reimburse hotel costs for campers affected by the Friday delay. The festival said the refund timeline is complicated by multiple ticketing platforms and payment plans and that they’re coordinating with providers to complete returns. Disco Presents emphasized safety as its guiding principle and pledged to share verified updates as they finalize reimbursements, leaving them in a balancing act between salvaging a new festival brand and answering an audience left rightfully frustrated.