OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — The community and ‘Friday After 5’, were looking forward to having one of their own perform on its final night of the year. Sept. 1 will no longer include a performance by Colt Graves.
Graves made the announcement on social media. He says he would not be allowed to perform due to his personality and performances being deemed as not “family-friendly”.
The Executive Director says she and the board worked diligently to try and find solutions.
“We had sponsors that would not sponsor. We had a lot of people when we went out with a pack to try to get him sponsored and the last night we sponsored. It just didn’t come to fruition, sadly. So we couldn’t pay him. We couldn’t pay the people he was hiring, and he was only gonna provide us with 30 minutes of music,” said Francine Marseille.
Graves signed a contract for two 90-minute sets weeks prior. Officials say the singer worked to involve several unapproved artists to fill the remaining time.
Graves and one of those artists were reached out to, but no response was received.
FA5 also shared a statement regarding the cancellation stating recent activities have led to loss of sponsorships. Officials say with thousands of attendees each week, it would be hard to continue.
Marseille says that although Graves could not uphold the contractual agreement, she offered to pay out of her own pockets if he could still uphold the terms.
“I wish him the best. My thing, sadly is that I love Colt, and I’ve supported him all the way,” said Marseille.
The board has scheduled new talent for that performance space, including a few special guests.
“We do have Todd Tilghman coming in. The winner of ‘The Voice’, he’s coming in. He’s gonna be wonderful at hosting and singing,” said Marseille. Also, maybe a couple people from like the Beach Boys, and America.
Officials say the acts are coming together to create a wonderful concert for Owensboro.
Graves is working to put on his own free community concert in the near future.
