07/10/2023
First and foremost, we want to express our deepest apologies for any inconvenience or frustration caused by the delay in artist payments. We value the incredible talent and hard work of the artists who contributed to the success of the event, and we fully recognize their right to be compensated promptly for their performances.
We would like to provide some insight into the circumstances that led to this delay. As you may be aware, organizing a large-scale concert/event involves numerous logistical and financial aspects. While we made every effort to ensure smooth operations, unexpected challenges arose during the post-event phase, which caused a temporary delay in processing payments. We are not a huge festival with a board or big backing. We are just grass roots, down home, lovers of music and the people that create it. We were unaware that only particular amounts of deposits could go into the account. We made a deposit during the festival of $40,000 and it flagged our account which has now led to a full blown audit. To this point we have paid out $23,698.00 to pay musicians, pay for cabins, required hotels, as well as other required items and all a lot of this we paid out of our personal account to make sure some of these musicians got paid. We are also exploring other options such as personal loans and business loans to try to make sure everyone gets paid sooner.
We have a love for our community and deep love for all regional and local music. With my wife Jen being a musician and her love for music, we wanted to work together with like minded people to create a place for all these musicians. It was never our intention for Hollerbilly or Festival of The Red to be anything big and we definitely didn’t do it to make money. It was genuinely created out of a love for these regional and local artists, we wanted to give them a place to play and perform when maybe bigger festivals weren’t giving them a chance or just hadn’t heard them enough. We are just normal everyday people, with families and lives outside of this and we hate that this has all happened. We have now been schooled on the ins and outs and are working diligently to get this resolved as quickly as possible.
We understand that communication and transparency are crucial during this period, and we are committed to keeping the artists and all sponsors as well as patrons of the festival informed about the progress moving forward. We will be sending regular updates to the artists, with timelines on payments as we find out, as well as addressing any concerns they may have. We also encourage the artists to reach out to us directly if they require any further clarification or assistance.
Those of you who know us personally know that we would never take advantage of the hard-working folks who agreed to play our festival. We sincerely apologize for the way this has been handled and accept all responsibility. We remain dedicated to resolving this matter as quickly as possible to ensure that the artists receive the payment they rightfully deserve.
Much love and respect to each of you
L.G. & Jen
