Brandy sued over festival no-show in Texas

R&B star Brandy has been hit with a breach of contract lawsuit after allegedly pulling out of a 2013 charity festival in Austin, Texas at the last minute. The Boy Is Mine hitmaker had been paid $30,000 (£18,750), in addition to accommodation, travel and equipment leasing fees, to headline the first night of the two-day Austin Urban Music Festival last March (13).
She was expected to arrive the night before the gig, however, according to legal papers, her representative initially called organisers at non-profit music education group Soul Tree Collective less than 24 hours before the 29 March (13) show to reveal she would not arrive until the morning of the concert.
They were then reportedly told that Brandy would not arrive until 25 minutes before showtime due to plane mechanical problems, and her handlers requested a police escort from the airport to the venue, and for her set start time to be pushed back.
The plaintiffs were unable to meet the requirements at such late notice, and Brandy’s spokesperson subsequently declared the singer would no longer be able to honour the concert commitment – two hours before the scheduled performance – even though her band had already arrived in the city.
In the court documents, lawyers for the Soul Tree Collective state: “Neither defendant nor defendant’s management provided any alternatives to limit plaintiff’s damages, including rescheduling performance dates by the artist.
“As a result of defendant’s failure to travel to Austin and perform at the festival, pursuant to her contractual obligations and her management’s lack of solutions or remedies, plaintiff’s representatives were forced to walk out on stage in front of the Friday night audience and explain that defendant would not be performing as promised to the ticket holders.”
They are seeking unspecified damages for breach of contract and promissory estoppel, the failure to honour a gratuitous promise.