Boise promoter owes Bannock County nearly $500K in lawsuit over imaginary Kid Rock show

The concert business is rife with pitfalls for the inexperienced or unguarded.

But, wow, Bannock County managed to get itself into a mess.

And now a Boise-based promoter must pay.

Last month, a 6th District judge awarded $473,676.04 to Bannock County in a default judgment, according to a jaw-dropping article in the Idaho State Journal and Idaho court records. The judge found that Go Out Local Inc. and its owner, Jonathan Segali, hosed the county in more ways than one.

The most egregious snafu? Promising a never-to-occur Kid Rock concert at Portneuf Health Trust Amphitheatre in Pocatello, then keeping the $250,000 deposit, according to the suit.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Go Out Local. It hypes Boise events. Or the related Go Agency, which the Idaho Statesman mentioned when the company put on a drone show last year. (It now appears to have gone belly up. Man, the Google reviews are painful.)

Court records showed that Bannock County filed a lawsuit in May “alleging breach of contract and fraud relating to a series of concerts held at the amphitheater last summer,” the Idaho State Journal story reported.

The phantom Kid Rock show was the doozy. The lawsuit said Segali agreed to “arrange” a future Kid Rock concert sometime in August 2022 — and talked the county out of a quarter-million bucks up front. The show never materialized, and Bannock County never got its money back, according to the suit, even though that was part of the deal.

Dang, Kid Rock is made for Pocatello. Think of all the beer sales!

The county also said in court filings that it got a raw deal on shows that actually did take place. As the Journal reported, “In total, Bannock County alleges Go Out Local withheld nearly $50,000 in ticket sales, about $37,000 in concession sales and the approximate $130,000 reimbursement for hard money expenditures.”

Idaho court records indicate that Segali and Go Out Local took the Ammon Bundy legal strategy and never even responded to the lawsuit. Hence, Bannock County’s pursuit of a default judgment. Once that got ordered, the county applied for a writ of execution — the legal way to get a court to enforce payment. On Sept. 7, 6th District Judge Javier Gabiola issued that writ.

Now the legal wheels are turning for the Ada County Sheriff’s Office to seize a home that Segali owns at 1714 W. Bedford Drive in Boise, according to the Journal. It could be auctioned off so Bannock County gets what it’s owed.

The Journal indicated that Zillow estimates the house is worth about $448,600. Oops. It’s dropped to $446,500 now.

Brutal.

Speaking of Ada County? If our government officials are gonna hire promoters to book concerts around these parts, let’s get references first.

If you bring Kid Rock, we’ll even drink Bud Light at the show.