The Graham Nash Concert scheduled for July 28 at the Madison Theater in Covington has been canceled, according to an announcement on the theater’s website.
Ticket holders will automatically be refunded their admission via TicketWeb.
“The previous operator’s sudden and unexpected closure of the venue, along with subsequent communications on social media, created significant confusion in the marketplace,” reads the announcement. “Unfortunately, there was insufficient time to prepare the venue to host the concert, including obtaining the permits necessary to restore operations before Graham Nash’s performance.”
The operators of the Madison Theater announced abruptly at the end of June the theater was closing, but a representative of the theater’s owner later disputed this. The operators attributed the closure to losing insurance coverage, which was required to remain in good standing with their lease, following an injury at the venue. Both the operators and the owners later stated the theater would be opening under new management in the future. Nash’s concert was one of the few concerts immediately following the closure to not be quickly canceled.
A lawsuit against ENC Properties, the company that owns the theater, and the theater managers was filed in Kenton County Circuit Court on Oct. 28 by Florence resident Sheryl Zollars. According to Zollars’ complaint, Zollars fell and sustained injuries on a stairway inside the theater leading to the stage in early November 2024.
The suit alleges that the venue should have been aware of any hazards in the building and that it should have warned patrons accordingly. Zollars’ lawyer, Scott Guenther, stated Zollars suffered a fracture in her right ankle and her upper tibia as a result of the fall. She spent nine days in the hospital and then two weeks in a rehab facility, according to Guenther. Evidence discovery in the case is ongoing.
A hearing related to an incident of crowd control at the theater took place in front of the Covington’s Alcohol Beverage Control Board in June, but there’s no indication that incident relates to the theater’s closure. The theater owner’s representative explicitly denied it played a role.