Festival Doesn't Want to Use Brown's Name
AP, Feb 5, 2004 3:25 pm PSTWith James Brown facing a domestic violence charge, a music festival in his hometown no longer wants to name itself after the Godfather of Soul.
Organizers of the event once dubbed the James Brown Music Festival said the backlash over the singer's recent arrest made it hard to find corporate sponsors. The Greater Augusta Arts Council said the annual May event would revert to its original name, the Garden City Music Festival.
Brown was arrested at his Beech Island, S.C., home last week on charges he pushed his wife, 33-year-old Tomi Rae Brown, to the floor during an argument in a bedroom and threatened to kill her. She was treated for scratches and bruises, and a mug shot of the 70-year-old Brown with mussed hair was widely distributed.
Whether Brown will still perform at the festival is uncertain, but the city is moving forward with plans for a $40,000 bronze statue of him, scheduled to go on display the day before the music festival.
Officials approved a $10,000 payment toward the monument's construction Wednesday without discussion.
Brown grew up in Augusta and has had offices and a radio station in the city.
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