Disclaimer: In Real Life is a platform for everyday people to share their experiences and voices. All articles are personal stories and do not necessarily echo In Real Life’s sentiments.
On Saturday, 22nd July, Good Vibes Festival 2023 was cancelled mid-event by the Malaysian authorities in response to the controversial remarks and onstage behaviour of Matty Healy, frontliner of The 1975.
IRL interviewed attendees and organisers to share their thoughts and feelings on the event’s cancellation and its impact on them. These are their firsthand experiences.
“I was in the front row and saw Matty go off the rails.”
On Friday evening, the Good Vibes festival was kicking into high gear at Sepang Circuit, Selangor.
The opening acts (Lullaboy, Resort, Lunadira, Dermot Kennedy, Sabrina Carpenter) had put on a strong performance, and it was time for the headliner for the evening, The 1975, to appear.
But as they launched into the first song, something appeared to be off about The 1975’s lead singer Matty Healy.
“From the start of the set, he was spitting everywhere, and you could tell he had been drinking heavily,” shared Ken, a fan who was standing in the front row.
Even the setlist was unusual. “Their song choices were very angry and rebellious. It wasn’t their usual happy, upbeat setlist,” described Ken, who had waited since 3pm to see his favourite band play.
During the 2nd or 3rd song, a drone flew too close to the band. In response, one of The 1975’s security team punched the drone and got injured, causing him to bleed.
Seeing this, Healy flew into a rage. He grabbed the drone from the guard, threw it on the ground and began stomping on it repeatedly.
“At first we were laughing, but it became very clear from that moment that Matty wasn’t in a good mood,” shared Ken.
The 1975 frontman launched into a long, drunken rant.
After their 5th song, Matty Healy then launched into an alcohol-fueled rant, criticising Malaysia’s discriminatory laws on the LGBT community, then segued into a tangent about being accused of pedophilia on Tiktok, and then apologising to his fans, before getting angry again.
As the speech wore on, Healy’s demeanour began to wear thin on the audience. Some in the crowd began to jeer, while still others continued to cheer him on.
After he finished, the bassist, Ross, walked over to Matty.
“At first we thought Ross was gonna tell him to calm down,” Ken said. “Nobody expected them to have a full-on makeout session for over a minute straight.”
Reactions from the crowd were mixed; some reacted in shock, saying, “WTF” while others cheered them on, going “Yeahhh!”
A few moments later, Matty was called backstage, and then came back out and addressed the audience: “All right, we’ve got to go. We just got banned from Kuala Lumpur.”
The band then abruptly stopped playing and walked offstage while still halfway through their song.
Festival goers were stunned.
“We wondered, is this a stunt? Are they coming back?” shared Ken.
But as the lights came on, the Good Vibes logo came on screen, and the stage people started packing up the equipment, everyone realised that it wasn’t all part of the act, it was real.
In a desperate bid to salvage the situation, the festival organiser, Future Sound Asia (FSA) made an announcement later that evening to allow those who had only paid for the Friday event could also come for the Saturday and Sunday events, free of charge.
However, none of that mattered because the next day, the Ministry of Communications and Digital had directed FSA to cancel the entire Good Vibes festival posthaste.
Festival-goers were devastated to hear the news.
“We had taken annual leave, booked flights and accommodation just to attend this once-in-a-lifetime event,” shared Joseph and Kim, a couple from Singapore.
VIP ticket holders would have had spent around RM2250: RM1300 for the VIP ticket, RM750 for a 3-night stay at the hotel, and RM100 for food.
As everyone started leaving Sepang Circuit, the atmosphere was charged with anger, not towards the organisers or the government, but towards Matty Healy and his actions onstage.
Many Malaysians condemned Healy’s actions as “insensitive”, “lacking awareness” and having a “white saviour complex” – not just for the organisers, fans, but even for the LGBT community themselves in Malaysia.
Vendors and Local Music acts said: “We were left high and dry.”
“We had worked so hard since March to make this event possible. To see all the vendors and local artistes having to lose months of hard work over this is heartbreaking,” said Lavi, a senior strategist at digital agency C27, which managed Good Vibes Festival’s social media.
There were more than 20 vendors that partnered with FSA for the event. Many of the vendors were small businesses who had spent up to RM15,000 in raw materials and rental equipment to prepare for the event.
As for the local music scene, industry insiders are of the opinion that this international incident will set them back many years in terms of presenting Malaysia as an attractive tourism destination to international investors.
Other international headliners such as The Strokes’ frontliner Julian Casablanca apologised to Malaysian fans, saying “So sorry Malaysia…I know you’ve been waiting 20 years for The Strokes to come play.”
As for the local Malaysian acts, The Good Vibes Festival was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for them to perform for an international audience, to fans as far away as Thailand and Australia.
“It’s just really unfair to see the rest of the local and international music acts cancelled when they had done nothing wrong,” shared Lavi.
It has been especially heartbreaking for Talitha Tan, who had planned for this event to be her way of sending her mother off after she passed away in an accident earlier this year.
Within the local music circles, everyone is rooting for Good Vibes Festival to come back next year.
“Please don’t let this one-off incident from one band tarnish the reputation of the organisers or the other live acts who flew in from all over the world to play at Good Vibes,” shared one concertgoer.
“Please continue to support the local music scene.”
What do you think about Matty Healy’s actions? Let us know in the comments!
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