Photo By Thomas B. Shea/For the Houston Chronicle
A woman from Dallas is claiming that the cancelation of a Houston music festival has left her a few hundred dollars lighter in her pocketbook.
Jessica Craine, 25, purchased two tickets for the Lone Star Music Festival, a two-day festival that was set for the second weekend in November at Downtown Houston's Discovery Green.
In mid-September it was abruptly canceled less than two months before it was to happen, and just weeks after it was announced.
The Lone Star Music Festival was to take place at Discovery Green on Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday, Nov. 8, with major headliners blink-182, Steve Aoki, Sublime with Rome, plus heritage acts like Roy Head, Jerry Jeff Walker and Joe Ely. Local stars Paul Wall, The Tontons and The Suffers were also slated to perform.
Locals seemed to be excited about the lineup and were pleased to have a music festival in Houston in early November when weather would be more agreeable.
Craine claims that she was initially told by the ticketing agency for the festival, Ticketfly, that refunds would be issued, but after waiting a month and not hearing anything she called their customer service line again.
'They told me that they would not be issuing any refunds at the request of the client,' said Craine.
Tom Bunch with TAB Management and Mark Lacy, the executive director of The Houston Institute For Culture, were the names behind the festival. Tickets for the two-day event went on sale Aug. 16, with sales figures not known.
Lacy said Monday that the festival was to be a Houston Institute For Culture fundraiser and that his non-profit was hoping to reap benefits for the community with the proceeds. Now he says the future of the organization is on shaky ground.
Bunch didn't return calls for request for comment on Monday.
Craine says that she after she purchased her tickets she and a friend has reserved a hotel room here in town and had requested off from work to make the trip to Houston to see the festival and blink-182, one of her favorite bands.
She feels rather than cheated that she spent $165 on two tickets only to be told that no refunds would be given. She says Ticketfly told her to file a claim with her bank if she wants to get her money back, which Craine says could take months.
Lacy pointed to contractual disputes between some of the artists and the festival organizers for the demise of the event. He said that he doesn't believe there was a contingency plan in place on Bunch's part in case the festival had to get canceled. Lacy says that he was not experienced with putting on large festivals, as his organization usually only puts on smaller scale events. He calls the whole thing now 'beyond convoluted.'
In a press release published on The Houston Institute For Culture's website, Lacy wrote the following:
'Upon notifying the planned artists about the event cancelation, Tom Bunch announced that he was no longer involved in the event, which left the organization with substantial debt. Houston Institute for Culture is working with others involved to resolve problems related to the cancelation to the best of its ability. 'While we believed the planning of the event was substantial and looked forward to its successful presentation, several of the key artists presented contract terms that were different than what Tom Bunch and his associates originally negotiated with them. The unforeseen circumstances caused the event to be cancelled. 'Prior to the failure of the music festival, Houston Institute for Culture was on track to provide increased youth programs for Houston communities and one of the most significant cultural education centers for the city and nation.'
Lacy said Monday that the debacle left him physically and mentally shaken and scrambling to figure out how to pay the ticketholders back. He said that refunds were paid out until the money ran out. He's heard from more than a few people with the same issues as Craine.
'He (Bunch) negotiated with the some of the bands to give them deposits 30 days before the event, but several of them ended up wanting their deposits 60 days before the event instead when presented with contracts,' says Lacy. This created a money crunch, it appears.
'The festival falling apart makes our foundation look bad too,' Lacy said, ballparking planning and marketing costs at nearly $18,000, not a small hit to absorb.
Craine says that one of the phone numbers she was given by Ticketfly to follow up about a refund now redirects to a phone sex hot line. This has been confirmed by calling that number.
With Houston's continued growth and the young professionals taking residence in the city, Houston is probably bound to have a few more festivals plant roots in town to take advantage of the demographic. Making sure they actually go off without a hitch is the hard part.
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