D’Esposito sued by Twisted Sister over ‘unpaid’ fee

Promoter John D’Esposito, the founder of New Jersey’s The Bamboozle festival and a former VP of talent at Live Nation, is being sued by Twisted Sister for US$150,000 in allegedly unpaid artist fees.

In a suit filed on behalf of Jema Productions, a company run by Twisted Sister guitarist Jay Jay French, the ’80s hair-metallers claim they have only been paid $50,000 of the $200,000 they are owed for headlining The Rock Carnival, held in New Jersey from 30 September to 1 October 2016.

The festival – promoted by D’Esposito’s company Rock N Festivals – was hit by three days of storms, which D’Esposito says led to an agreement with the band’s agent, Coallier Entertainment’s Daniel Stanton, to postpone payment in favour of giving three opening bands their fees up front, reports the Associated Press.

Rock N Festivals sent Jema a cheque for $200,000 after the festival.

“Thousands of people were prevented from attending because of torrential rains and excessive winds”

However, according to documents filed in the Monmouth County superior court, the company’s lawyers wrote to French on 13 October saying there was no money in the account and urging him not to cash it.

D’Esposito says the Rock N Festivals “suffered catastrophic economic losses” as a result of the wet weather, with “thousands of people” prevented from attending due to “torrential rains and excessive winds”.

The band claim they were paid $50,000 on 7 December 2016, but have yet to receive the outstanding balance.

“After a stellar 14-year reunion in which we played in 32 countries all around the world, to have this happen at the final show in the New York area is very disheartening to the band,” French tells AP.

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