Organisers of a botched music festival in Vermont, US have been ordered to provide up to $10,000 in refunds by the Attorney General’s Office.
Shrinedom 2017, the festival held to benefit Montpelier’s Mount Sinai Shriners, left hundreds of attendees with a significantly depleted lineup and out of pocket.
The two-day ‘80s rock festival saw its power cut halfway through a song by one of the opening bands. Organisers claimed it was due to a faulty generator, however low ticket sales had prompted bands to leave because they had not been paid, according to court documents.
All bands left the Irasburg site, where the festival was held, except the Nashville Country Band and the locally based Raized on Radio and MindTrap.
PayPal provided around $10,000 in reimbursements to those who had purchased tickets online, but at least $25,000 worth of tickets were sold overall, according to court documents.
Organisers needed to sell 4,000 to 6,000 tickets to cover the costs of the festival, but had only sold between 500 and 1,000 by the opening day.
“A more experienced event organiser would have recognised this and cancelled or postponed the event,” wrote lawyers for the AG’s office in the settlement.
The settlement requires organiser Adam Johnson to dissolve his nonprofit and bans him from directing “any fundraising efforts” for five years. His co-organiser Marcus Clay cannot hold any concerts or events with an audience of 1,000 or more in Vermont for five years.
No additional penalties were levied against the organisers as no “intentional fraud” was committed by any parties, said Assistant Attorney General Ryan Kriger, according to VT Digger.
Image: Photo Collections
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