What was meant to be a fundraiser turned into a money pit in Perrysburg Heights.
Problems with power and performers during a rap concert Saturday have left financial obligations, along
with some fans asking for refunds.
Perrysburg Community Center hosts an event to fund operations each year, usually a Mexican-American
festival. That happened Friday night, with the larger hip-hop show slated Saturday.
Those who attended a show originally billed with several big-name rap artists instead saw a lineup
without Coolio, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Naughty By Nature. It was also hampered by a blown transformer
which affected several of the four stages. Power was eventually restored to some areas, but the concert
ended earlier than planned.
Coolio suffered an asthma attack and did not appear, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony was limited to one member,
said Jason Craig, the community center’s director of operations.
Now, there are an estimated $35,000 worth of bills, which Craig said he plans to cover personally by
selling rental properties. That includes about $15,000 owed to police for security.
Craig claims he was “duped” by organizers who promoted the show without actually entering into contracts
with the headliners which were advertised. He said he made payments Saturday to artists including Layzie
Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and several other mainstream performers, as well as an audio company, in an
effort to honor promoters’ contracts to get the concert rolling.
Craig said he was not closely involved in arranging the show until the weeks leading up to the event as
he grew suspicious of dealings between a promoter, Tim Corser, and booking agents and artists. When he
requested to see the contracts, he found out two groups were not planning to attend, Craig said.
“I didn’t know what he was doing behind the scenes,” he said. “Those artists weren’t booked.”
When Coolio had problems with asthma on Friday, Craig said he did not learn of it until Saturday
afternoon.
“Clearly I dropped the ball by not keeping my eye on things a lot better,” he said.
Craig said refunds have been issued to some ticketholders who requested them, though it’s complicated
because of a number of free tickets he said were distributed.