Day for Night 2017 Friday
photo by Tim Griffin

Day for Night Festival won't happen in 2018

Houston, TX festival Day for Night won’t return for a 2018 edition, the Houston Chronicle reports. The festival’s future was uncertain after after backers severed ties with founder Omar Afra in August following allegations of sexual misconduct. Now the festival and other “assets and financial interests” of Afra will be sold at a public auction.

More from Houston Chronicle:

Creditors who had a stake in the event will sell the Day for Night branding and intellectual property Monday, along with other “assets and financial interests” of festival founder and Free Press Houston editor and publisher Omar Afra. Those other properties include the Our/Houston Vodka brand.

Randall Jamail, founder of Houston’s Justice Record label, had been a financial backer of Day for Night since the beginning of the buzzworthy festival. Jamail said he is still proud of the festival that showcased the likes of hip-hop superstar Kendrick Lamar, alt-rock icon St. Vincent and the multimedia work of Bjork.

He doesn’t expect to get any of his investment back from the sale, he said, adding that the liquidation of assets almost certainly won’t recoup enough money for every investor to be repaid. Jamail wouldn’t release the amount of the debt, and Steve Harter, the principal investor, did not return phone calls Friday.

“Is it a bunch of money? Yeah, it’s way more than I have,” Afra said of the debt. “It’s also par for the course for building and launching something of this scope.”

Free Press Houston posted a statement from creditors about the sale, which will happen on November 26:

FPH Chicken Holdings, LLC intends to hold a public sale to the highest qualified bidder of the purported assets and financial interests of former owner Omar Afra and related entities, including but not limited to Free Press Houston newspaper and website, Day For Night Festival, and Our/Houston Vodka distillery business on Monday, November 26, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at the Offices of Pagel, Davis, and Hill, P.C. at 1415 Louisiana Street – 22nd Floor, Houston, Texas 77002. The sale will be subject to any superior liens and security interests.

For a list of the property/assets to be sold or questions, contact: Corbett Daniel Parker at 713-951-0160 or at [email protected]

Last year’s festival featured Nine Inch Nails, Thom Yorke, Solange, Cardi B, St. Vincent, Tyler the Creator, James Blake, The Jesus Lizard, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and more.