Bands have 'given up' waiting to be paid for festival
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BANDS which performed at a popular Inverness music festival have reacted with a mixture of resignation and anger following the news that the company behind the event is to fold.
As reported in the Courier last week, Mint77, which created Brew at the Bog four years ago, announced that the festival will not be returning next year and the company itself is to be dissolved.
Organiser Yvonne Murray said in a Facebook post that she was too ill to continue and would be in touch with promoters once the winding up had been completed.
A number of performers confirmed this week that they were still waiting for more details. Glasgow band VASA, who launched their own widely-shared online tirade earlier this year when they warned other groups to "stay well clear of Mint77 events", said they had now "pretty much given up on receiving any payment for our performance".
Ross Livingstone, manager of four-piece Ayr band Polaroid People, also said: "Like pretty much every other act we still haven't received any payment or any indication of that coming any time soon.
"The last time I heard from Yvonne or Mint77 was back in June and we didn't even receive the most recent message that was apparently sent out to other acts and people involved with the production of the festival.
"We found out about Brew at the Bog/Mint77 folding through Facebook and other acts we played alongside posting about it.
"The band and I think it's a big shame and frustrating to hear and watch the way everything has gone down, considering the show was great and the festival and the staff we were directly involved and worked with were brilliant."
Immediately following this year's festival at Bogbain Farm, south of Inverness, Ms Murray hailed it as "our best year", with the largest audience ever.
However another billed act, Outblinker, said they had actually pulled out just two days before the event over fears then of how things were shaping up.
Band member Chris Cusack said "certain disconcerting signals" had led to them deciding to cancel.
"With our suspicions aroused we dug about a bit and it was quickly brought to our attention in the run-up that non or late payment had been an issue for at least the last two years," he said.
"And the lack of contracts ahead of the festival was a red flag in our opinion.
"While I have no doubt that the organisers, who were always pleasant, embarked on the event with sincere intentions, I also feel they were ultimately entirely naive in their approach and outlook, and consequently unsympathetic to the hideous economics of being a musician in today's marketplace.
"They caused many bands to incur huge expense and inconvenience, as well as then extracting free labour in the form of a performance. Needless to say it was a pretty sorry state of affairs to observe and, though we escaped unharmed, it was unpleasant to watch other bands suffer."
As part of her cancellation announcement, Yvonne Murray said that any holders of early bid tickets for 2017 would be able to get a refund at their point of purchase.
