THE BEAST

The concert promotion company behind the fledgling Disrupt Festival Tour , among dozens of other festival brands and tours, has shuttered its doors.

Promoter John Reese and his concert promotion company Synergy Global Entertainment have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. The Southern California firm owes roughly $8.4 million to creditors, including significant amounts to American Express, Front Gate Tickets, and Groupon, among other publicists, lawyers, and vendors.

SGE apparently suffered sizeable losses from the aforementioned Disrupt Festival, which launched this year and featured The Used, Thrice, and Sum 41, among others.

In a statement to Billboard , Reese says he was "hit by a perfect storm of adverse market conditions" and suffered a "massive drop in ticket sales since late April," ultimately rendering SGE's existence "untenable."

"After having creative impact in over 45 Festival Brands and Tours in the company's history, we most appreciate the years of partnerships with fans, artists, brands and vendors," Reese added.

Notably, SGE's sole secured creditor is Ash Avildsen , owner of Sumerian Records . Avildsen apparently loaned $1 million to Reese in June as SGE struggled to remain solvent. (A secured creditor generally gets paid first amid a bankruptcy.)

Avildsen told Billboard, "all of his summer events were already booked and on sale so there was no time to do proper due diligence, hence it was a very risky investment but I care about John and the SGE family dearly."

Via LambGoat