PROMOTER Chris Knight, who runs Spring Fever Promotions, has failed to pay artists and crew involved with Disconnect Festival for more than 100 days, according to several people involved with the event.
Disconnect Festival is a weekend-long event of music, art and comedy held at Fairbridge Village in Pinjarra.
News came to light on Wednesday when the Disconnect Festival Facebook page posted a survey, as well as information on the 2016 leg of the event.
Several people, including alleged stage crew members, complained organising the second festival was unfair to those who had not been paid for the original.
A site coordinator for the event, who did not want to be named, said despite working at the event in December, he and others were still waiting to be paid.
"In December of last year, myself and a large group of very talented, hard working people worked together with various amazing artists and vendors to put on what came to be known as THE festival to go to. Named 'Disconnect Festival', it was an instant hit," he said in an online post on Wednesday.
"However in the end, the news hasn't been so good for all of us who put blood, sweat and tears into this venture. Many staff and artists, including myself, haven't been paid for the efforts we lent to making this festival a hit."
He said that while he wasn't personally owed a significant sum, it had been well over 100 days since the event and he had "not seen a red cent", which he described as "downright criminal".
West Australian Music Award winner Timothy Nelson, who fronts Timothy Nelson and the Infidels, said it was unfortunate the promoter had not fully supported the hard-working crew.
“You know, it happens sometimes, you wait ages for money to come through,” he said.
“But it was only when we found out the staff and crew, all the behind-the-scenes people, hadn’t been paid that we first started talking about it.”
According to the artists involved, Mr Knight has been unreachable through his email and phone number.
Along with his brother Ben, Mr Knight previously ran Altered State, the operator of the Perth leg of the now-defunct Soundwave Festival.
Altered State was rendered insolvent by a Federal Court dispute between the company and Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah over a $1 million bar profit.
Mr Nelson said a broad discussion had been happening between artists and crew since Wednesday in an attempt to get the payments they are owed.
“I understand a bunch of people have been following it up and sending demands of payment, but just getting nothing back.
“We we’re just expected to come down, play, and have a good time. There’s so many people involved with the festival that spent two days working so hard there, and for them to not get paid, it sucks.”
Mr Knight has been contacted for comment.
