Field of Vision, the festival that took over Meadow Creek in Buena Vista for two straight summers, will not return in 2027. The cancellation comes down to a permit standoff between organizers and Chaffee County, even as the festival's headliner, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, has already lined up three separate Colorado concerts for next August instead.
According to Westword, Meadow Creek and Chaffee County were unable to agree on 2027 permit conditions for events at the venue, and Meadow Creek said in an Instagram post that the two sides could not settle on terms that would let the festival meet its own standards. Field of Vision had been held at Meadow Creek in Buena Vista, Colorado, drawing King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard as the main draw each night of the festival's second edition in August 2026, per the same report.
That second edition also featured Angine de Poitrine, a band from French Canada, along with Austin's Die Spitz and Blood Incantation, Westword reports. Author Dave Herrera described the 2026 edition as bigger and better than the festival's debut, and Meadow Creek co-producer Jake Frommer said the event's evolution from its first to second year still had room for improvement, adding that Meadow Creek aims to host and partner with artists who curate the overall experience.
What the Permit Fight Was Actually About
The disagreement over 2027 terms didn't happen in a vacuum. Chaffee County commissioners were scheduled to hold three consecutive public hearings on Tuesday, November 10, all tied to concerts held or proposed at The Meadows, according to arkvalleyvoice.com. One of those hearings centered on a proposed amendment for an August 2027 concert that would raise maximum capacity from 10,000 attendees to 12,500 and expand allowances for amplified sound, the outlet reported.
It wasn't the first time capacity numbers had been part of the conversation. In an earlier permit process, the county approved a September 17 to 21, 2026 concert window at The Meadows as year one of a multi-year permit application, with that application requesting an 11,500 cap for the first year and 10,000 for each year after, arkvalleyvoice.com reported separately.
Security arrangements were also part of the friction. Meadow Creek had asked to hire a private security firm to handle safety duties while keeping sheriff's deputies on an on-call basis, according to liveforlivemusic.com. Organizers were blunt about the stakes, stating, “Without this change, we are not hosting an event in 2027.”
Arrests, Fire Tickets, and a Warning on Ticket Sales
The 2026 festival didn't pass without incident. A Chaffee County Sheriff's after-action report found that deputies made 25 arrests during the festival, including 23 drug arrests, and issued 121 fire restriction violation tickets, per the liveforlivemusic.com account of the report.
Meadow Creek co-developer Jed Selby predicted that fallout from this year's event could hit future turnout, saying, “I think we'll already start to see ticket sales fall off based on what we did this year.” A separate promoter, cited by heartoftherockiesradio.com, predicted ticket sales would drop for future King Gizzard festivals if the underlying issues weren't resolved — a forecast, not a confirmed outcome.
King Gizzard's Colorado Run Still Happens
Even with the festival gone, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard isn't skipping the state. The band will begin its Colorado concert series on Friday, August 13, 2027, at Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs, continue Saturday, August 14 at Mission Ballroom in Denver, and close out Sunday, August 15 at Dillon Amphitheater in Dillon, according to Westword's reporting.
Presale tickets for the three shows became available Wednesday at 10 a.m., with general tickets set to go on sale Friday, November 13, at 10 a.m., per the same Westword report. Whether Meadow Creek and Chaffee County find a path back to the table for a future festival remains an open question tied to the unresolved permit terms.
