Adelaide venue The Producers Bar has come under fire from more than one local band claiming the venue did not honour contracts it had signed, leaving the bands out of pocket and in one case, forcing the band to cancel the gig.
Sydney outfit The Lulu Raes took to Facebook yesterday to announce the cancellation of their Adelaide show this Friday. “The venue decided they don’t feel like honouring the contract by paying us so we regret to inform you we will NOT be playing this Friday’s gig,” they wrote.
“Adelaide kids we’re very sorry and we’ll be back soon at a good venue,” they added. According to the band’s management, the cancellation has left the band out of pocket for the cost of flights and the time taken off work to travel.
“The lads were really excited about getting back to Adelaide but after the venue booker (who signed the contract 5th August) suddenly left the position a few weeks back the new person in that role attempted to renegotiate every aspect of the contract pulling the bands performance fee, accom and back line,” they wrote.
“Facing a rather large financial loss we were left with no option but to cancel the show.” However, the venue has since responded to the band’s claims, insisting the contract The Lulu Raes signed is void as it was signed by an “unauthorised person” on the venue’s end.
“We would have loved for the Lulu Raes to perform at our venue but we were presented with an invalid contract. The contract hadn’t even been signed off by Lulu Raes’s management/agent, or been signed on our end by an authorised person,” they wrote in a statement.
“We did not buy the show or were the promoter, we are merely the venue. Their agent had attempted to pass on most of the risk to the venue through an unauthorised person. We were merely trying to make sense of it all.”
The venue went one further, sticking the knife in by claiming the band had sold very few tickets to the cancelled performance. “Maybe if they hadn’t only sold seven tickets to the show, their agency wouldn’t have cancelled the event,” they added.
However, another band with gripes against the Producers Bar has since come out of the woodwork. Taking to social media, fellow Sydney band WildHoney claimed they still haven’t been paid for a performance back in July.
“You still haven’t paid us our fee nor reimbursed us our travel etc from a gig we played at your venue back in June,” they wrote. “You have not come through on anything you contractually agreed to and was signed at both ends.”
“Not a leg to stand on. You book bands, sign contracts, and then leave those bands in debt for playing your venue. A blight on the beautiful South Australian landscape.” Tone Deaf has reached out to The Producers Bar for comment but they did not respond in time for publication.
