Lockn’ Music Festival has settled with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control, which had threatened to yank the festival’s alcohol license because some festivalgoers smoked pot and the lighting wasn’t bright enough at the 2013 event.
In a compromise settlement dated December 5, the festival’s caterer, Best Beverage Catering, will pay the ABC $12,500 to make the disciplinary actions go away.
Except for traffic tie-ups getting into the site at Oak Ridge estate in Nelson County, most attendees C-VILLE spoke to considered Lockn’s first four-day festival in September 2013 a success, with Widespread Panic, Trey Anastasio, and The String Cheese Incident on the line-up.
Among those in the nay camp: undercover ABC agents who were shocked—shocked!—to discover that some of the 25,000 music lovers used drugs like marijuana and that a woman sunbathed topless.
After two lengthy hearings in April and May, an ABC hearing officer dropped the topless charge, but revoked Lockn’s license on the drug and lighting charges. The festival was able to serve beer at the 2014 event while the revocation was under appeal.
In the compromise settlement, Lockn’ agreed to pay a $6,500 civil penalty for the drug violations, along with $1,000 for the ABC’s investigative efforts and another $1,500 to avoid a three-day license suspension from December 8-11. On the second charge for inadequate illumination, Lockn’ ponied up a $1,500 civil penalty, $1,000 for the investigation costs and $1,000 in lieu of a two-day December 12-14 license suspension.
“We didn’t admit to any of the alleged charges,” said Lockn’ organizer Dave Frey. “We have a license completely without blemish.” That’s why he decided to pay an additional $2,500 to avoid the license suspensions, even though they would not affect the 2015 festival in September.
Lockn’ organizers have long contended their licensing woes were the result of an overzealous ABC agent who had a personal agenda about the festival taking place at all. The nine agents who attended videotaped more than 100 instances of illegal substances being consumed, but did not make any arrests because they feared rioting from the Lockn’ crowd, two agents testified at the hearings.
In contrast, Nelson County Sheriff David Brooks issued a statement after the 2013 festival saying there had been “little to no trouble.” Nelson Captain Ron Robertson said deputies made seven major drug arrests and compared the ABC agent to a “storm trooper.” That agent did not work at the 2014 festival.
Frey praised the agent who handled this year’s festival, and said there were no ABC violations for 2014. “Now that the alleged charges are settled, we’ll have a clean record for 2013,” he said.
The case was slated for appeal to the ABC Board December 9 when the compromise was reached. Board members, through ABC spokesperson Becky Gettings, declined to comment. “The Board and hearing officers…let the decisions speak for themselves and do not offer statement or opinions,” she wrote in an e-mail.
ABC Board members Jeffrey Painter, Judy Napier and Henry Marsh III were all appointed to the board this year by Governor Terry McAuliffe. The turnover followed last year’s high-profile bust of a UVA student carrying sparkling water in a Harris Teeter parking lot.
According to Gettings, for fiscal year 2014, 109 cases up for disciplinary action —15 percent—were settled by “offer in compromise.”
Frey said it cost him “easily $50,000” to settle the matter after hiring a lawyer and flying in witnesses for two disciplinary hearings.
The Lockn’ promoter is relieved to have the matter settled. “It’ll be good to focus on real issues,” said Frey.