Some new EDM festival drama just dropped. This time, it’s in Birmingham, Alabama. This past January, Veritas Social announced Sloss City Festival, set to take place at the city’s historic Sloss Furnaces on September 18, 2026. The new festival is not to be confused with Sloss Fest, another diverse music festival that was held at the Furnaces before ending its four-year run in 2018.
The festival’s marketing over the past several months has stirred up controversy. For starters, its tagline is “Birmingham Isn’t Borning Anymore.” It’s a risky move to build a campaign around a slogan that seemingly insults the entire city, as well as the underground communities that have been working to keep its music scene alive.
Then there’s the festival’s website, which advertises Sloss City Fest as “the relaunch of a legendary Alabama music festival.” However, Sloss City Fest has no affiliation with Sloss Fest.
The festival has also faced criticism over its lack of diverse marketing and its compensation structure for local DJs. According to contracts shared online, local DJs are paid “15% of the face value [of] tickets that have their specific discount code,” with their slots contingent on how many tickets they sell. Sloss City Fest lists major sponsors on its website, including Pepsi, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Aquafina, and Yelp. Critics, however, argue that the festival has not been transparent about how much it is paying local acts.
Birmingham artist and DJ Artsen shared a social media campaign titled Sloss Fest Is Boring, which highlights these criticisms and includes images of contracts for local DJs. You can find those below.
Following the post’s circulation and mounting online criticism, Sloss City Fest responded with a lengthy statement that attempts to address some of the concerns:
A STATEMENT FROM SLOSS CITY MUSIC FESTIVAL:
We have heard the concerns being raised about Sloss City Music Festival and we would like to take some time to address them.
First and foremost, we respect everyone who has taken the time to speak up.
We are true believers that criticism, when brought forward in a constructive manner, gives us an opportunity to listen, learn, and do better.
We also want to clarify something that we feel is important:
Sloss City is not being brought to Birmingham by outsiders.
The people behind this festival are real people who live, work, study, and are part of the Birmingham community. This city is our home too. We have chosen Birmingham because we genuinely love this city and want to contribute to its music and entertainment community, not because we see it as a market to enter.
For many of us, being involved in Sloss City is our way of giving back to a city that has given us a community. We know there are people and organizations that have been building Birmingham's music scene for years, and we respect the work that came before us.
Sloss City was created out of a genuine love for Birmingham, electronic music, and this community. Our goal has always been to create a welcoming experience that brings people together at the Sloss Furnaces and gives both national and local artists a platform.
Representation matters to us.
We were intentional about our lineup, which includes artists from a variety of racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, including African American, Latino, Asian, and Indian artists, as well as women artists.
We recognize, however, that representation is not something we should simply point to after concerns are raised. We can and will be more intentional about how we represent Birmingham's diverse community throughout our lineup, marketing, and overall festival experience. We hear that criticism, and we will continue to grow.
We also want to clarify that our creative materials are not Al-generated. Our marketing is produced by a very talented team, led by a Birmingham-based graphic designer, who has put significant time, effort, and creativity to bring this concept to life.
Regarding our local artist stage:
We are grateful to every artist who is joining us, and we will be in direct communication with each artist regarding compensation.
We also remain open to conversations with anyone who as concerns about the process.
Regarding the financial side of the festival:
We have also seen statements suggesting that the festival's costs are fully covered by sponsorships. That is not accurate.
We are grateful for our sponsors and they have played an important role in helping us bring this event to life, but they do not fully cover our costs. Ticket sales and audience support are still essential to the festival's ability to happen.
We are not building this festival around profit being our priority.
We are investing in creating something for Birmingham that we hope can continue to grow.
We also want to address the phrase "Birmingham isn't boring anymore."
We understand why that message could have been frustrating to people who have spent years building Birmingham's music and event community. That was never our intention, and we apologize for the impact it had.
The phrase came directly from conversations we repeatedly heard from young professionals and college students who would say things like, "There's nothing to do in Birmingham" or "Birmingham is so boring." We were responding to that sentiment, not attempting to diminish the incredible work already being done by Birmingham's artists, venues, promoters, and event organizers.
We recognize that our words can have an impact beyond our intentions, and we should have been more thoughtful about that. We will continue to learn during this process.
We are listening. We are learning. And we want to do better.
To everyone who has supported Sloss City, thank you. And to those who have raised concerns, thank you for helping us grow.
Our goal remains simple: create a festival where people feel welcome, artists feel valued, and Birmingham gets to celebrate electronic music together.
-Sloss City Music Festival
After Sloss City released its statement a couple of days ago, Artsen responded quickly. Yesterday, they posted their feedback with the caption, “Response to Sloss City: I’ll believe the change when I see it.” They rated Sloss City’s response a 5/10, expressing appreciation for the acknowledgment of their concerns and questions. However, some of the responses only raised more questions. Their full statement reads:
RESPONSE TO SLOSS CITY
LET'S GET INTO IT.1. PAY LOCAL DJS:
I APPRECIATE THAT THEY SAID THEY WILL BE COMMUNICATING DIRECTLY WITH LOCAL ARTISTS ABOUT COMPENSATION. I HOPE THIS MEANS THE DJS WILL NOW RECEIVE GUARANTEED COMPENSATION.
HOWEVER, THIS WAS MY BIGGEST CONCERN AND I FEEL IT WAS THE LEAST ADDRESSED.
I HOPE THIS PAY-TO-PROMOTE STRUCTURE ISN'T USED FOR LOCAL DJS OR EVENTS MOVING FORWARD. IT SETS A PRECEDENT FOR OUR SCENE.
TIP: VALUE IS LOCAL DJS AS ARTISTS FIRST, NOT AS TICKET SELLERS.2. DIVERSITY
THEY SAY THEIR LINEUP WAS INTENTIONAL, AND I APPRECIATE THEIR ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT REPRESENTATION IN THEIR MARKETING NEEDS IMPROVEMENT.
BUT REPRESENTATION ISN'T JUST ABOUT WHO'S ON THE LINEUP. IT'S ALSO ABOUT HOW YOU REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY YOU'RE MARKETING TO.
POSTING A BLACK WOMAN AFTER CONCERNS ABOUT REPRESENTATION WERE RAISED, WITH A CAPTION ABOUT BRINGING "THAT FRIEND" AND WATCHING THEM DANCE, DID NOT FEEL LIKE THE RESPONSE I WAS HOPING FOR.
TIP: REPRESENTATION SHOULD FEEL INTENTIONAL FROM THE BEGINNING, NOT REACTIVE.
3. COMMUNITY
THEIR STATEMENT SAID THAT MEMBERS OF THEIR 19-23 YEAR OLD TEAM LIVE, WORK, AND STUDY IN BIRMINGHAM.
BEING FROM BIRMINGHAM AND BEING INVOLVED IN BIRMINGHAM'S EXISTING EDM COMMUNITY AREN'T THE SAME THING.
I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT HOW THEY'RE SUPPORTING THE PEOPLE, EVENTS, PROMOTERS, AND ARTISTS ALREADY BUILDING THIS SCENE.
TIP: SHOW UP. MEET THE COMMUNITY. SUPPORT LOCAL EVENTS.4. FALSE ADVERTISING AND AI
THEY DENIED THAT THEIR GRAPHIC MATERIALS ARE AI-GENERATED.
I ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR DENIAL. HOWEVER, MY ORIGINAL POST WAS ABOUT AI PHOTO USE.SOME OF THE POSTS/IMAGES THAT ORIGINALLY → RAISED MY CONCERNS APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN DELETED FROM THEIR PAGE.
I APPRECIATE THEIR APOLOGY REGARDING THE "BIRMINGHAM ISN'T BORING ANYMORE" CAMPAIGN.
TIP: WHEN YOUR MARKETING CREATES CONFUSION OR BACKLASH, HONESTY GOES A LONG WAY.
5. TRANSPARENCY
THIS RESPONSE IS A START. I HOPE THAT MOVING FORWARD, TRANSPARENCY INCLUDES DIRECTLY ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT ARTIST COMPENSATION, TICKET SALE REQUIREMENTS, AND HOW THIS FESTIVAL PLANS TO SUPPORT BIRMINGHAM'S EXISTING EDM COMMUNITY.
TIP: CONTINUE TO LEARN AND GROW FROM CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM.
OVERALL, I APPRECIATE THAT SLOSS CITY PUBLICLY RESPONDED TO SEVERAL OF THE CONCERNS I RAISED, EVEN THOUGH I STILL HAVEN'T RECEIVED A RESPONSE TO MY EMAILS.
SOME OF THEIR ANSWERS WERE MEANINGFUL. SOME LEFT ME WITH MORE QUESTIONS.
FINDING OUT THAT MUCH OF THE TEAM IS 19-23 ALSO GIVES ME PERSPECTIVE. THEY'RE YOUNG, THEY'RE BUILDING SOMETHING AMBITIOUS, AND THEY'RE STILL LEARNING.
PR RESPONSE IS ABOUT A 5/10 FOR ME.
I'M GLAD THEY RESPONDED. I'M GLAD THEY ACKNOWLEDGED SOME MISTAKES. BUT
ULTIMATELY, STATEMENTS AREN'T WHAT WILL CHANGE MY OPINION.I'LL BELIEVE THE CHANGE WHEN I SEE IT.
SLOSS CITY IS LEARNING.
