A Heartbreaker Of A Cancellation

The Taste of Blue Ash stage was a battlefield for a band that found itself booted from its slot opening for Pat Benatar during the annual Ohio festival. But the Devonshires were paid for the canceled gig with an extra $1,000 thrown in for their trouble.

The city put the Devonshires, described as a “classic-rock show band,” on a bill with Benatar and husband Neil Giraldo Aug. 26, but Blue Ash officials had to cancel the appearance because the artist’s contract prohibits “a band like the Devonshires” from opening for them, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

“There was a disagreement over the interpretation of the contract’s language concerning the type of band that was suitable for an opening act for Pat,” Kelly Osler, an assistant for the city manager, told the paper.

The city of Blue Ash not only financially honored the contract and then some, but promised to schedule the Devonshires for next year’s Taste of Blue Ash. The full amount paid wasn’t disclosed, but Artist Events’ Gary Kirves, the band’s agent, told the Enquirer that the Devonshires turned down other gigs in order to open for Benatar.