In September, Rod Wave faced a $27 million lawsuit from his former concert promoter, Grizzly Touring LLC. The company claimed that the artist breached his contract and failed to return advance payments made ahead of his shows.
A few weeks later, Rod Wave fired back with a countersuit against Grizzly, accusing the promoter of trying to pressure him into continuing their partnership despite the problems that occurred during his “Last Lap” tour in 2024. He also claimed that the promoter made it “logistically impossible” for him to meet his contractual obligations. In the filing, Rod Wave asked the court to void his contract with Grizzly entirely.
“Grizzly is not entitled to this improperly requested specific performance or equivalent injunctive relief, which effectively amounts to an indentured servitude,” stated Rod Wave’s attorney, James Sammataro. “Defendants have lost confidence in Grizzly as their tour promoter and no longer wish to perform services for Grizzly or receive Grizzly’s services.”
Rod Wave Lawsuit
Rod Wave performs at a sold-out Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2023. Piet Levy / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The lawsuit also claimed that Rod Wave often found out about rescheduled shows at the last minute, sometimes only after discovering tickets for the new dates online. “Only 12 of the 35 scheduled shows occurred at the date and venue originally announced,” the filing added.
According to AllHipHop’s Grouchy Greg Watkins, Grizzly has now filed a 36-page response in federal court. In it, the company alleges that Rod Wave still owes them at least $27 million from the tour, claiming they advanced more than $57 million in total costs.
Grizzly attributes the tour’s problems to Rod Wave’s team, arguing that they were responsible for stage setup and crew coordination. The promoter further claimed that his management approved a tour schedule that turned out to be “impossible to execute” because they “failed to account for larger, more expensive production needs.”
