Idaho Rockfest promoters being sued for lack of payment - East Idaho News
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Idaho Rockfest promoters being sued for lack of payment

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IDAHO FALLS — The unexpected cancellation of Idaho Rockfest this weekend appears to be connected with a lawsuit between the talent broker and the concert promoter.

The lawsuit was filed late Wednesday afternoon in Bonneville County by Todd Hutchinson with Hutch Entertainment in Tennessee. Hutchinson acted as the talent broker for the event. The defendant is local promoter Ron Heyrend with EKR Productions, which organized the event.

Court documents show Hutchinson booked the following acts at Idaho Rockfest: RATT, Warrant, Dokken, Vince Neil, Sebastian Bach, Great White and Lynch Mob.

RELATED: Promoters offer explanation for Rockfest cancellation

In exchange for the bookings, Hutch Entertainment was promised a 15 percent booking commission to be paid in advance of the show. That percentage equaled out to $25,163. The invoice was sent on Aug. 3, and as of Wednesday, the fee had not been paid, according to court documents.

The lawsuit claims Heyrend is in breach of contract for nonpayment and that his promises of payment were fraudulent in that he never intended to pay Hutchinson. The suit claims Heyrend had been negotiating with respective bands on his own to “circumvent (Hutchinson) to pay the bands separately.”

The suit asked the court for a temporary restraining order to prevent the concert from occurring, or alternatively for Heyrend to turn over all funds received from patrons of Idaho Rockfest until the fee has been paid in full.

However, while the judge was considering the complaint Thursday morning, EKR Productions announced they were canceling the show.

In an interview Thursday morning, Heyrend told EastIdahoNews.com he had financial backing for 95 percent of the show, but just 24 hours before the show, Heyrend said he learned the remaining five percent would not be available.

“My financial backers were not willing to front load the last bit of money for the bands,” Heyrend said. “After speaking with our agents, we decided it’s better to cancel instead of wait and get everyone out here and have these guys not show up with the money.”

Heyrend could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit Thursday afternoon.

Heyrend said his company is in the process of reimbursing every ticket holder. Customers who purchased with a credit card will have the money credited back to them. Those who paid in cash, will receive a cash reimbursement. If you have questions, you can email idahorockfest@gmail.com.

Local attorney John Avondet, who is representing Hutchinson, also clarified that since the cancellation of the show, they are no longer seeking funds acquired from patrons of Rockfest. Their only goal is to get the money they are owed from Heyrend.

At least one of the bands commented on the cancellation. RATT posted the following message to their Facebook page:

RATT

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