WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP, Ohio — West Chester Township officials are claiming that the organizers behind the VOA Country Music Festival repeatedly forgot to pay bills, among other things, prompting the township to pull out of hosting the music festival.
"The VOA Country Music Festival is a popular event, which is why the Township has worked very hard to make the event," township officials said in a statement.
The township alleges that Further Management & Productions, LLC, also known as Further Festivals, did not ahere to the terms of their license agreement and missed critical public safety planning deadlines alongside failing to pay bills to the township and its partners.
"For the 2024 and 2025 events, Further Festivals was late to pay for public safety costs, forcing the Township to involve legal counsel to receive payment, which burdens taxpayers with unnecessary legal fees," the statement reads.
The township said despite these failings, it has continued to commit significant staff time and public resources to support the event.
"Further Festivals creates financial risk for the Township by not paying bills on time, failing to meet contractual obligations, and failing to repair and remediate public property wholly and in a timely manner," the statement reads. "For these reasons, the VOA Country Music Festival is no longer viable or in the best interest of West Chester taxpayers."
Outside of the issues with Further Festivals, the township said VOA Country Music Festival doesn't generate enough positive economic impact to offset the public level of investment required to sustain it.
From its available data, the township found that the festival doesn't have a great impact in hotel activity, with hotel occupancy rates actually steadily declining during the festival period since it began. The township said cell phone mobility date also shows that fewer than 1% of observed attendees actually stay in area hotels. Businesses near Voices of America MetroPark also report reduced customer traffic and low sales during the festival, according to the township.
The township also says it does not receive any direct sales or revenue tax from the festival to offset the cost to taxpayers.
"Our responsibility is to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and public property," the statement reads. "The Township cannot continue to commit substantial public resources and assume financial risk for a private, for-profit event without timely payment or demonstrated positive economic impact to the community."
The statement reiterates that the township isn't against holding large events at VOA MetroPark or partnering with future event organizers, but officials believe the right partner and operating plan must be in place.
"We recognize the value large events can bring to the community and remain open to working with organizers who can reliably meet their financial, operational, and contractual obligations," the statement reads.
The dates for the 2027 Voices of America Country Music Festival have been released, a potential headliner has been leaked, but the site for next year's festival remains a mystery after the partnership ended with West Chester.
Carly Adams, marketing director with VOA, has said an "exciting location" for future festivals has been secured.
Rumors circulated around VOA MetroPark during the 2026 festival about a potential future site, from the former Conley Island property in Cincinnati to Majors Farm in Monroe to Smith Park in Middletown.
Ken Brown, spokesman for the city of Middletown, said he’s heard nothing about the concert coming to Middletown.
