By Eddie Zvanic Special Press Correspondent
HUTTO — The city’s long-running and acrimonious relationship with Directors of Chaos, the entertainment management company contracted to produce concerts at Brushy Creek Amphitheatre, has come to an end, with the city announcing that the two companies have agreed to terminate the contract, effective immediately.
“On July 11th I received an email from DOC co-owner and founder Chris Stone requesting a mutual release from our contract,” Interim Mayor Peter Gordon told reporters.
“He said he was going to close the business because he no longer had the capital necessary to operate as a company.”
The City Council had included an item on the agenda for its July 11 meeting to discuss the contract. After receiving the email, the City Council announced it would invoke the mutual termination clause in the contract.
“We are grateful for the efforts and contributions of our Chaos Directors throughout our partnership,” Communications Manager Shayna Jung said in a press release.
“The City of Hutto is committed to exploring new opportunities to continue providing a great experience at Brushy Creek Amphitheatre while maintaining top-notch entertainment and smooth operations. We assure the community and patrons that we are actively exploring new management solutions to maintain the quality and enjoyment of our future events.”
DOC was scheduled to perform a Beatles tribute show at Brushy Creek Amphitheatre on Aug. 1. John said the show has been canceled and all ticket holders have been refunded.
The relationship between DOC and the city has been on rocky ground since shortly after the contract was first signed last year.
Owner Tim Pioppo and Stone made an ambitious presentation to the City Council at its April 20, 2023 meeting.
“Our plan is to start with reduced capacity events during the summer to minimize risk, then develop and produce 10 or more concerts between July and the end of the year 2023, and expand venues the rest of the year to ensure a strong calendar in 2024,” Stone said at the time.
After lengthy discussion and some disagreement, the majority of council members voted in favor of the contract.
The 10 concerts never took place.
Directors of Chaos only had three concerts booked for 2023, only one of which actually took place.
A Ramon Ayala concert scheduled for September was canceled after the artist canceled his entire tour. A November headlining concert by The Fleursies sold only 200 tickets, resulting in a net loss. City documents show the city’s share of venue and parking fees was $729.75. And a concert featuring two Grammy Award-winning artists scheduled for December was canceled by event organizers.
The city issued a notice to terminate the contract in December.
Then in March, the City Council approved a revised contract with the DOC that offered a more favorable revenue share for the city and a “target” of eight concerts in 2024. But now, just a few months later, that agreement has been voided.
“We were disappointed that things didn’t work out with them and that they failed in their attempts to set up a venue for us.
“We think Brushy Creek Amphitheatre has great potential as an event space, so we’re hopeful we can find another company that could have even greater success,” Gordon said.