‘Re-Fyre Festival’: L.A. Jazz Festival called off just days before scheduled kickoff

The inaugural L.A. Jazz Festival — which promised music stars such as John Legend and Janelle Monae performing across the city — was abruptly called off last week, leaving scores of artists and vendors seemingly out of luck and unable to recover upfront costs they had to invest. The festival’s website on Monday simply stated that “updated info coming soon,” with no other details about the event that was going to start on Friday and run through Aug. 23. Organizer Martin Ludlow, with Mayor Karen Bass at his side, announced in February details and sites of the massive event. “Due to significant, unanticipated last-minute public safety and municipal costs associated with the final permitting of the On The Beach Festival, we have reached the decision to unfortunately postpone this year’s inaugural LA Jazz Festival,” Ludlow said in a statement issued on Friday to City News Service. “Although this decision was an extremely difficult one to reach, our commitment to the audiences and artists participating in the festival is to have a first-class experience worthy of the great legacy of Jazz and our great city.” Representatives for Bass, who is facing a tough re-election bid in November, and Ludlow could not be immediately reached for comment on Monday. Before this jazz debacle, Ludlow was best known as a former L.A. city councilman who pleaded guilty in 2006 to federal charges for conspiring to embezzle union funds for campaign costs. “People are joking that this is the L.A. Fyre Festival,” Southern California saxophonist Leah Concialdi, 39, told NBC News on Monday, referencing the infamous 2017 festival-turn-fiasco. “It was an ambitious undertaking, but they should have started smaller and scaled up.” The late cancellation left many artists and vendors on the hook for front-end expenses. “Yeah, it’s a very bizarre timeline,” said Concialdi, who had been ready to debut her new group Sacred Noise Unknown at this now-cancelled festival. “I mean, we are lucky because we are based in Los Angeles locally, so you know there were no flights and hotel costs incurred. But you know we’re still spending money on rehearsal spaces. We have a drummer who lives in the Bay Area who’s made arrangements to come and perform and rehearse with the group.” Pianist and composer Bokani Dyer got word of the cancellation before boarding his scheduled Thursday flight from South Africa to the Untied States — but he’ll still be out $3,000 for a non-refundable ticket he had purchased for this event, his manager Sevi Spanoudi said. The artist doesn’t believe he’ll be able to recover that lost money, said Spanoudi, adding that organizers had not paid her client a deposit, which is typical these performances. “No deposit and no hope,” Spanoudi said in a text message to NBC News. “There have made no attempts to answer emails and requests. It’s a hit and run.” Chicago-based saxophonist Isaiah Collier estimated he’s out about $10,000 following the cancellation and now gig-less trip to Los Angeles. The musician said he felt sympathy for the food vendors at festival sites who are now stuck with perishable stock they won’t be able to sell. “This was an event that was supposed to be about community engagement and now we have community enragement,” said Collier, 28. “I mean I may have lost my money, but I could only imagine the work it took (for food vendors) to set up all that stuff and you’re just outside waiting and all of a sudden you’re told, ‘Oh, by the way, this ain’t happening.’” Collier added: “Basically we can call this the re-Fyre Festival, I guess.” [Image text:] KORG CANOPUS