Features
Pensacola Concert Takes A Hit
Officials in Pensacola, Fla., lost about half of a loan to the second installment of the Gulf Coast Summer Fest, which took place on Pensacola Casino Beach over Labor Day weekend.
Photo: Doug Seymour
Scranton Jazz Festival, Scranton, Pa.
The Santa Rosa Island Authority provided $105,000 to the R&B and jazz concert, knowing it was a risky investment, according to the Pensacola News Journal. A low turnout meant a return of $53,000. The Aug. 30 12-hour show featuredJohnny Gill,Will Downing, Dru Hill, Average White Band and two other acts, and the Authority needed 2,000 paying customers to break even. The concert sold 960, according to the paper.
Promoter William “Cadillac” Banks received the loan; Island Authority executive director “Buck” Lee blamed the low turnout on the threat of rain, which didn’t happen.
“I don’t know if it was the artists or the threat of rain,” Lee told the News Journal.
The Authority voted 4-2 to approve the loan.
“I felt like he would not have not problem repaying $100,000 with what he was planning,” board member Ed Guernsey said. “I don’t think we have a resource to collect the shortfall.”