Meadows in the Mountains

The end of a chapter

Dear Meadows family,

This is one of the hardest letters we've ever had to write. After years of dreaming, dancing, building, and rebuilding — with a heavy heart, we have to inform you that Meadows in the Mountains will not go ahead in 2025, and we are now preparing to file for bankruptcy.

This decision has not come lightly. For over a decade, we’ve poured our hearts and souls into creating a festival that defies expectations and invites people into a parallel reality — one grounded in liberation, connection, and deep reverence for the land and the rave.

But in the last two years, we’ve faced challenges that are now proving to be insurmountable, following a series of unfortunate events that have been pushing us backwards with every new step we’ve tried to take.

In 2023, serious personal allegations led to the departure of some key members of our production team right in the run up to the festival. Despite this, we pushed forward to deliver our gathering — at great personal & financial cost and risk. The result: over €150,000 in unpaid crew and service provider debt, and an immense toll on our community. Despite compliance and openness to due process, these allegations were never followed up on by those who raised them - yet significant damage, especially to the team, was done.

Then in 2024, just as we were preparing to rise again, the EU & Bulgarian government elections were set to take place during our festival dates leading to them revoking our permits, clipping our wings and sending us deeper into the red.

Still, we didn’t give up. We sought funding, courted investors, and we held on to hope. But the investors who had promised to back the 2025 edition pulled out in January for other professional reasons. And in March, our final funding application was rejected.

Now, with over €400,000 in accumulated debt, we do not see a viable way forward, and the time has come to pause — and let go.

This opens up space for mourning and allows the Meadows spirit a moment of hibernation and gestation, so that new resurrection ideas and plans can be allowed to emerge in the later half of this year.

💔 To everyone affected…

2025 ticket holders: Your funds are safe — they’ve been held in escrow and will be refunded via the ticket platform automatically. No further action is needed on your part.

2023 crew and service providers: We owe you more than just money — we owe you an apology. We know this debt is significant. It forms part of the bankruptcy proceedings, and while we currently have no funds to repay you, we are exploring every possible path toward future restitution.

2024 ticket holders who rolled over to 2025: Thank you for your belief in us and we are so heartbroken to let you down - as our debt to you also falls into the bankruptcy proceedings. If you're open to other forms of compensation, we’d love to make that happen and we will come forward with suggestions in the coming months as we develop them further.

2024 ticket holders who requested refunds: We’re sorry to say that at this time, we are not in a financial position to process your refunds. These debts will also form part of the bankruptcy proceedings. We understand how disappointing this is, and we’re deeply sorry. If and when we are able to generate income through new ventures, we truly hope to find a way to honour your support — and we’ll be transparent about any developments on this front.

🌱 The Future

Though this chapter is closing, we do not believe that Meadows has breathed its last breath.

We are working on ways to stay connected to the mountain, host alternative, countercultural gatherings, and rebuild something slowly, regeneratively, and soulfully. If the land calls to you, and the invitations we craft pull you, we hope you’ll visit and we can find practical forms of repair and regrowth.

We’re grieving, but we’re also hopeful. Meadows was never just a festival. It was a way of being — a quantum village, one enmeshed with the land and another in the clouds where love, liberation, and pleasure could take root akin to magic beanstalks.

That energy hasn’t gone anywhere.

💌 With love and gratitude

To every dancer, dreamer, artist, crew member, and wanderer who shaped this wild journey: thank you! You created something unforgettable.

And to everyone we’ve hurt along the way — by over-promising, under-delivering, or staying silent too long — we are truly sorry and acknowledge that many lessons were learned the hard way. The glory in living lives not in never falling, but in how we rise when we fall.

We’ll be sharing more soon.

With humility and heart,
The Meadows Team