Bamboozle Promoter Sued For Unpaid Loan After Fest Fizzles

A music executive is suing the promoter of New Jersey’s Bamboozle fest for failure to repay a $500,000 loan, more bad news for the Atlantic City festival canceled a week before it was set to return to the shore May 5.

According to a lawsuit filed in Monmouth County, Anthony Martini, currently with Royalty Exchange and formerly of Crush Management, is suing Bamboozle Festival LLC and John D’Esposito, claiming he’s owed $630,000 on the half-million dollar loan he issued at 20 percent interest.

According to the filing, Martini and D’Esposito signed a contract on or about Nov. 21, 2022; Martini wired money to four agencies and entertainment companies as directed by D’Esposito, and then wired more than $37,000 to D’Esposito himself. The lawsuit said none of the loan was repaid by the January deadline the men agreed to.

The three-day festival, which was scheduled for May 5, 6 and 7, was denied permits by Atlantic City. In an email following the cancellation, the festival said it was illiquid.

“There was an ongoing concern we were not getting the required documents from festival organizers in a timely matter,” Atlantic City business administrator Anthony Swan said in a statement. “We asked for this information months in advance to protect the city and the taxpayers of Atlantic City. The event was fast approaching, and these issues were still unresolved.”

Bamboozle, a fixture in the Garden State between 2003 and 2012, was returning after a decade-long hiatus with performances from, among others, Saves The Day, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach and Steve Aoki.

When the line-up was finalized in January, D’Esposito wrote on social media “Bamboozle headlines this years festival. The festival will not have high priced headliners, as we brought it back to how it started. It starts with a scene. Warped Tour nor Bamboozle ever relied on a headliner, the headliners will rely and want to be part of Bamboozle!”

Many fans found the line-up underwhelming, creating a rush for refunds and complaints filed with the State of New Jersey’s consumer watchdog agency.