Music fan Chuck Epes is angry.
He was prepared for a nice Valentine’s evening with “The Empress of Soul” – having bought two tickets to see the legendary Gladys Knight and the Pips, singer of “That’s What Friends Are For,” at the Landmark on Valentine’s Day.
But within 24 hours before the concert, on Feb. 13, he received an email from SMG Richmond that “due to weather and travel conditions” the performance was rescheduled for Sunday, Feb. 16 – a date that he couldn’t attend.
Epes then attempted to recoup the $187.50 he had spent on the tickets through etix.com. who are listed as “the official ticketing provider for Landmark Theater and Richmond Centerstage.” They told him to contact the venue. He did that and was told by an employee that the promoter — who they couldn’t name – was in charge of refunds and was not giving any.
“The whole thing is crazy, this is their policy?” an incredulous Epes told Style Weekly. “The woman I talked to said she would pass it along with similar complaints — so there were obviously others who had called.”
While it is typical practice in the industry for a venue to protect a promoter – they are serving merely as a rental hall in most cases – Style has learned that other angry ticket holders have been voicing their complaints with local media outlets.
The show was being promoted by Hosea productions based in Mechanicsville. A call to their listed number has yet to be returned. A Style music contributor says that this is a husband and wife team that has been promoting shows for 20 or 30 years. “He used to go by the Great Jose when he was doing rap shows,” says Craig Belcher.
UPDATE:
A spokesperson with SMG Richmond says she was trying to get a “statement” or more info regarding the matter. There will be no press release.
