Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Wein sold his company, Festival Productions, to the Festival Network LLC in 2007 and stayed on with the new company. Festival Network produced the shows in 2007 and 2008, as well as other festivals across the U.S. Earlier this year, Festival Network announced that it had suffered financial problems and was streamlining their operations. No details were given.

In February, DEM, which operates Fort Adams, canceled Festival Network's five-year contract to hold the festivals, citing late payment of the state's share of the 2008 festival proceeds and other considerations. Wein stepped in and applied for a license to hold the shows.

At the time, Wein said that he hadn't been paid by Festival Network since November and considered himself a free agent.

Festival Network may not see it that way. Last week, the company's CEO, Chris Shields, released a statement saying: "We view George Wein's effort to ensure the legacy of music festivals in Newport as complementary with FN's own effort to produce the Newport Jazz and Newport Folk festivals, the trademarks of which we control.

"Our intention remains to produce these festivals in 2009 and we look forward to working with George in doing so. Given the bleak economic climate, we believe cooperation among all parties with a vested interest in these festivals is paramount."

Committee member Richard Woolley, from the attorney general's civil division, mentioned that Festival Network "had something to say" about the changeover, but assured the committee that any legal action would be with DEM and Wein, not the State Properties Committee.

Reached at home in New York Tuesday, Wein said "There's nothing I can say [about Festival Network] because I have no contact with them. They keep sending out these [statements] that they're very happy that I'm getting the licenses because that means we can get back together again. That has nothing to do with any reality that I have thought of."

Wein added that "I don't move without legal advice," and said he assumed that the state feels the same way. He said that the name changes of the festivals were due to the trademark issue.

Gail Mastrati, a spokeswoman for the DEM, said Festival Network had contacted the state, but wouldn't elaborate.

The license betwen Wein and the state is similar to previous ones, except it is for only one year; Wein's deposit has been increased from $20,000 to $50,000, and Wein must put up a $200,000 bond.

Wein said he was happy to be back in business. "At my age," said Wein, 83, "I'm happy to get up in the morning.

"The fact that I'm still in action, and enjoying the action, is important to me. It's like getting a second lease on life."

The original version of this posting was filed at 10:38; it was updated at 11:29 a.m. An earlier version of this posting gave the wrong month for DEM's revocation of Festival Network's contract.