ANDERSON, CA (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The promoter behind the three-day Jukebox Music Festival claims that he was forced to cancel an Alan Jackson concert and end the festival early in the face of poor ticket sales. Other artists on the bill included Ricky Skaggs and Pam Tillis.
The festival's promoter, Allan Folino, told a local radio station that he felt that he was forced to cancel the festival and Jackson's performance after walk-up ticket failed to materialize.
Folino told the radio station KNCQ-FM that he had paid Jackson $112,500 of his $225,000 fee but when walk-up sales proved to be slow, he contacted Jackson's reps to try to work out a compromise, including offering Jackson all of the Sunday ticket sales from the festival.
"We ran out of money for Alan Jackson," Folino said. "We talked all night long to try to get him to work with us … They came back and said he is going to take a pass."
Folino was also uncertain about refunds to ticketholders and vendors. He told the radio station that fans who bought their tickets through Paypal should be able to obtain refunds but was unsure as to the extent of additional outstanding obligations.
“It’s not like we got money in the back end at all,” Folino said. “I put every dime of my life in this. . . . Nobody is taking money.”
According to Folino, a show that Jackson canceled on Friday due to illness led to rumors that the country performer was ill. While Jackson had canceled a July 20th appearance in Los Angeles, he did play to a sold-out crowd the following night in Salinas.
In a post on Jackson's website, a rep for the artist wrote: "Alan Jackson, Ricky Skaggs and Pam Tillis are united in their support of the Anderson and Redding communities and deeply regret not being able to perform for the great Northern California crowds. Each performer was in attendance this past Sunday, July 22 at the Jukebox Music Festival in Anderson, CA. Jackson, Skaggs and Tillis were going through the normal concert preparations before their scheduled performances when the financial woes of the festival were beginning to be revealed. All of the artists involved in Sunday's canceled festival want to express their greatest regrets in not being allowed to perform. They each have a great respect for their fans and understand that the Shasta County country music community as well as the vendors and volunteers have lost the most in this situation." – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
