JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Leo Bennett’s Funk Fest made its return to Jacksonville’s Metropolitan Park after a years-long hiatus.
The event had run in Jacksonville since 2002 through 2018, but finally made a return to the River City the weekend of May 9.
According to the event’s website, the line-up stretched across two days with performances from Charlie Wilson, King George, 112, and Carl Thomas on Friday.
On Saturday, the event’s website said that the park would host Trey Songz, Lil Boosie, 8 Ball & MJG, and Donell Jones.
Some people who reached out to Action News Jax say things did not go as planned.
“The gates opened at 4, the show was supposed to start at 6. It did not start until well after 7 o’clock,” Tammy Holman said.
Holman says she traveled from Savannah, Georgia, and left disappointed when King George and Carl Thomas didn’t show up for their performances.
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She says Friday’s concert was interrupted by a 2-hour rain delay, too.
“We only saw 2 performers. Then they announced that everyone had to leave because of a pending storm,” Holman said.
She tells us that the park was cleared while people were waiting for a storm to pass, but that storm never came... Until they were let back into the park.
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“Charlie Wilson started to perform, then it started to really rain, and then we had to leave again, and that ended the show for that night,” Holman said.
Holman shares that she and many others spent hundreds of dollars on VIP tickets that promised a fast lane for entry, and exclusive restrooms and food vendors. But she says people waited in long lines, and the venue only provided one exclusive vendor for food and one exclusive vendor for adult beverages.
Other people reached out to Action News Jax, sharing their experience.
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And now many are asking for refunds.
We found Leo Bennett’s name attached to a Better Business Bureau report that lists his company as unaccredited, with an F rating.
Action News Jax tried reaching out to Bennett by submitting a contact form on the Funk Fest Tour website, FunkFestTour.com and by calling the phone number listed in the BBB report.
We still have not heard back.
According to the festival’s website, though, the Funk Fest does not offer refunds.
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