After cancelling Idaho Rockfest, the event organizer said he did not have the funds to pay back ticket holders and now, he has filed for bankruptcy.
Idaho Rockfest was supposed to take place on August 25 and 26 and feature acts like RATT and Vince Neil of Motley Crue. However, it was abruptly cancelled just a day before opening. The cancellation occurred after Rockfest was sued by a Tennessee entertainment agency for not paying a broker’s fee. Todd Hutchison of Hutch Entertainment alleged that Ron Heyrend of EKR Entertainment and Productions Inc. owed the agency a 15 percent broker’s fee.
Following the cancellation, ticket holders immediately reached out for refunds and were told they would be reimbursed within 48 hours. While some were refunded, others weren’t, leaving things inconsistent. Then, two weeks later, Heyrend said he didn’t have the ability to refund anyone else, noting that the event was “never supposed to be refunded” in the first place.
Nearly two months later, ticket holders are still waiting to be reimbursed. According to the Post Register, Heyrend filed for bankruptcy protection last week in federal court in Pocatello. He reportedly owes about $123,000, while Hutchison is seeking more than $25,000 from the organizer.
The original Facebook page, where ticket holders were requesting refunds and contacting Heyrend, has since been deleted. The Eastern Idaho Better Business Bureau encourages ticket holders that have not been refunded to reach out and file a complaint so they can investigate the situation.
