Rockesha Promoter Owes Rent

The Rockesha festival, held at the Waukesha County Expo Center in late June, was shut down mid-performance after performers apparently got wind that there was not enough money to pay them. The rock show included Firehouse, Lita Ford, Quiet Riot, Warrant and Mr. Big’s Eric Martin, but the promoter, Splat Entertainment, apparently depended on ticket sales to pay the artists and was sidelined by weak sales.

About 35 people paid at the gate and the promoter, Roby Lyons, needed about 900 walkups to cover the bands, according to WISN-TV. Now the expo center manager, Teri Adlam, wants the money owed to rent out the grounds. Lyons paid $1,000 for a deposit.

The full amount was due the week of the show but the venue “took a chance” on the rent. “Two weeks before the event, I asked him where he stood. I said, ‘What do you owe financially?’ and he said, ‘I’m in pretty good shape. I owe production and I owe you,’” Adlam told WISN-TV.

“I don’t think he knows what to do, and he’s lying low.”

The venue will be turning the contract over to the county collections department, Adlam said.