The New Year’s Eve (31.12.24) celebration turned sour for fans of 25-year-old rapper Ice Spice during her performance at Wildlands Festival. Scheduled to perform a 30-minute set, the Bronx native only managed a five-minute appearance in Brisbane due to a strict curfew, leaving festivalgoers disappointed and sparking widespread criticism.
Ice Spice was slated to take the stage at 10:30 pm, but delays saw her emerge at 10:55 pm just minutes before the festival’s 11:00 pm cutoff. She managed to deliver two full songs, Deli and Princess Diana, and part of In Ha Mood before her microphone was abruptly cut off at 11:01 pm.
Festival organizers defended the decision, citing the need to maintain a tight schedule to ensure the New Year’s countdown proceeded as planned. In a statement shared on Instagram, Wildlands said, “Managing a stacked festival means we have to be extremely firm with set times. We had a strict curfew of 12:30 and needed to ensure the final act went on stage on time.”
However, fans were far from understanding. Journalist Brenton Larney, who attended the event, described the crowd’s reaction as a “collective sigh” when the mic was cut. “They’d been waiting for a while, and they get two songs? It was just really disrespectful,” Larney told The Guardian. He also criticized Ice Spice for appearing unfazed by the situation, saying, “She walked off laughing and shrugged off flowers offered to her for her birthday.”
Addressing the issue during her Perth performance on Saturday (04.01.25), Ice Spice apologized for the delay, humorously blaming it on the time needed to perfect her “Barbie” look, referencing her collaboration with Nicki Minaj on Barbie World.
Despite her apology, the controversy has left fans divided, with many questioning the rapper’s punctuality and professionalism. For festival organizers, however, the incident underscores the challenges of balancing artist expectations with strict event timelines.
