Adelaide’s General Admission Events goes into liquidation

General Admission Events has gone into liquidation with debts of $150,000.

The Adelaide music events company provided hospitality services, including staff and bar operations, to national festivals Groovin’ The Moo, FOMO, Parklife, Soundwave and Future Music.

Its director Gareth Lewis told the Adelaide Advertiser that the company was affected after the collapse of FOMO Festival last year, which folded owing debts of $6.2 million.

FOMO director Anand Krishnaswamy partly blamed “breaches of contract” by its 2020 headliner Lizzo and “significant” pressure from government officials to increase safety measures.

“It left us holding the debts in South Australia,” Lewis said. “With the festival industry shut down, there was no other way to raise the money to pay off the debts.

“We did approach the state government last year to see if they would pay the local suppliers who were owed money but they rejected our pleas.”

The suppliers lost $85,000, according to ASIC documents, while the Australian Tax Office was the biggest creditor owed nearly $125,000.

At an April 7 meeting, General Admission Events’ company members made the decision to wind up the company and appoint liquidator Daniel Lopresti from Clifton Hall.

The move does not affect the related General Admission Entertainment, which runs the Adelaide UniBar and the Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival.

In April 2020, Adelaide pub The King’s Head on King William St in the CBD, which Lewis ran, temporarily went into liquidation after coronavirus restrictions severely impacted its trading.

Last year he was one of eight candidates trying for the Adelaide City Council’s central ward seat, saying the local music industry needed a voice on council and pushing for a night mayor and a permanent concert amphitheatre as part of his platform.