A city in North Carolina is facing a lawsuit for canceling a music festival headlined by hip-hop’s biggest stars due to fears of gang violence.
The city of Winston-Salem pulled the plug on the Carolina Summers Music Fest, which was scheduled for July 31st at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds. Pooh Shiesty, Moneybagg Yo, and Big Latto were set to headline the show, while Renni Rucci, Vedo, and others were also slated to perform. Unfortunately, the city informed Starr Entertainment, the concert’s organizers, on June 21st that it was not going to allow the festival to go through after investigating the performers’ backgrounds. Winston-Salem determined that based on their probe and “publicly available information,” the concert posed an imminent danger to the community.
Starr Entertainment fired back in their lawsuit, stating that they and the city signed a deal on June 9th agreeing to host the event. However, that initial agreement did grant the city the right to call off the contract “on the grounds of character offensive to public morals.”
Still, the entertainment company is not letting up, claiming that the city caused them to lose nearly $200,000 in non-refundable deposits for the venue and performers, though damages could increase.
Attorney Jessie Fontenot, who is representing Starr Entertainment, says that the city’s decision to cancel the event based on the threat of gang violence is “completely unsupported by the facts.”
Headliner Pooh Shiesty remains incarcerated without bond, so it is unlikely that he would have made it to the show had it not been canceled. It remains unclear if his recent arrest played a role in the city’s decision to cancel the concert.
The 21-year-old was arrested in connection to a King of Diamonds shooting just days before the city sent the letter to Starr Entertainment informing them of the cancellation.
