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Irish Daily Mirror
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Nathan Carter meet and greet row erupts again as team hits back
The row over Nathan Carter's controversial Belfast meet and greet has reignited, as the country star's team hit back at claims he was ever officially booked for the event. The Wagon Wheel singer had headlined Feile an Phobail's sold-out Country Festival in Falls Park on Saturday night - joined by The Whistlin' Donkeys, Ultimate Eagles and Claudia Buckley - but confusion unfolded at The Balmoral Hotel, where a free "Nathan Carter Meet and Greet" had been promoted as part of its new Cargo Cult Smokehouse launch. Hundreds of fans turned up expecting to meet the singer, only for Nathan to post on Instagram the next day saying he had never been "officially booked" and apologising to disappointed guests. The 35-year-old said: "Regarding the meet and greet which was advertised for the Balmoral Hotel yesterday with myself, it's something that I was never booked for and apologies to people who did turn up. "When I got to Belfast I headed straight over and I met a few people at the hotel, but obviously missed an awful lot of people that had been there, so apologies about that. But unfortunately, it's something, as I say, that I was never officially booked for and it was advertised, so hope you all had a good time anyway at the Feile." But the hotel quickly hit back with a no-holds-barred Facebook post, claiming the event was booked and confirmed via Nathan's official promoter, Joe Gallagher Entertainment. Nathan Carter addressed the situation on Instagram (Image: Instagram/iamnathancarter) "Let's clear a few things up, shall we?" the hotel began. "As a proud sponsor of this year's Feile, we at The Balmoral Hotel were genuinely excited to host a FREE 'Nathan Carter: MEAT and Greet' event for the launch of our new Cargo Cult Smokehouse. This was booked and confirmed for us on Saturday 25th July via Joe Gallagher Entertainment, named as the official promoter for Nathan Carter's show. We were told that Nathan would be arriving on Saturday 2nd August any time between 4pm and 6pm." The Balmoral Hotel said they had only 250 free tickets - which "went within hours" - and claimed they reconfirmed the booking, even after being asked to "take the post down by Nathan's team", who were reportedly "getting requests from other businesses for meet and greets". They detailed extensive preparations, including shutting the car park, bringing in extra staff, providing free food, live music, a DJ, photographer, videographer and even a shuttle bus. The Balmoral alleged: "At 5pm, we got word from the promoters that Nathan would be arriving at 8pm, which overlapped with the start time of the Feile concert. We informed guests about this and let them decide what to do. Some stayed, some understandably couldn't and headed to the concert. We kept the energy up, and Nathan eventually arrived just before 10pm, posed for photos, and then headed to the show." The hotel then hit back at Nathan's social media claim: "Now here's the twist: Today, Nathan Carter posted a story on social media saying we never booked him. We're just going to say this: Maybe, just maybe, his teams should start talking to each other, because from where we're standing, this was very much booked and we planned every last detail around it. We're not in the business of drama, but we are in the business of hospitality and we're proud of the effort our team put in to make something special (and free) for our community." The Balmoral Hotel in Dunmurry on the outskirts of Belfast city (Image: Google Maps) The hotel closed their statement with a jab: "To our guests: thank you. To our team: legends. To Nathan: next time, we're booking Daniel O'Donnell. With love, The Balmoral Hotel." As the row went viral online, Nathan's team has now responded with a fresh statement. A spokesperson for Nathan Carter said that he was "never booked for this". They told Belfast Live: "On Saturday night Nathan and his band performed at Feile Country Fest, which was an amazing gig. The promoter, who booked Nathan for the show, asked if Nathan would go to the venue and meet the venue proprietor and some of his personal guests to which we agreed, but at no stage was there a time or agreement to do an official meet and greet. "Once Nathan arrived in Belfast, he went straight to the venue and met some of the people that were there. We understand people's annoyance and are very sorry that this happened, but as I said, this was never booked as an official meet and greet." Promoter Joe Gallagher Entertainment also weighed in and took to the Balmoral Hotel's defence. A spokesperson said: "Joe Gallagher Entertainment can confirm that the Nathan Carter pre-concert meet and greet advertised by the Balmoral Hotel in Belfast was pre-arranged and agreed with Nathan's Tour Manager. "After being delayed on his arrival in Belfast, Nathan did ensure he made an appearance at the Balmoral Hotel event. The delay was in no part due to the Balmoral Hotel." Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Trump's New FCC Chair Investigates iHeartMedia for Possible ‘Payola' Violations
The Federal Communications Commission is asking iHeartMedia to prove it isn't making music artists perform without full compensation in exchange for better radio airplay, a possible violation of U.S. 'payola' laws, according to a letter obtained Tuesday by TheWrap. Carr's letter, addressed to iHeartMedia CEO Robert Pittman, refers to a recent FCC Enforcement Advisory highlighting what the FCC calls a trend – radio station owners and festival promoters coercing artists into illegal arrangements. 'Indeed, I want to know whether iHeart is effectively and secretly forcing musicians to choose between, one, receiving their usual, ordinary, and full scale compensation for performing or, two, receiving less favorable airplay on iHeart radio stations,' Carr wrote. Carr is seeking detailed information about the Austin-based iHeartCountry Festival in early May to ensure compliance. The letter gives 10 days for iHeartMedia to respond to eight questions, including a list of scheduled artists and their compensation; whether airplay is influenced by their participation; reasons for artists performing for free or at reduced fees; and regulatory compliance training protocols. In a statement to TheWrap, iHeart said: 'We appreciate FCC Chairman Carr's interest in ensuring the radio industry is compliant with all applicable laws and regulations and will be responding expeditiously to the specific questions posed in the Chairman's letter about iHeart's upcoming Country Festival.' The company said participation in its country festival has no bearing on its radio stations' airplay, and that it makes no such agreements either overtly or covertly. 'The iHeartCountry Festival provides the same kind of promotion that that we see with artists on talk shows, late night television, the Super Bowl and in digital music performances and events: the promotional value to the artists is the event itself, and, in our case, is unrelated to our radio airplay,' iHeart said. 'We're very proud that over the years we've had artists ask us to be a part of the iHeartCountry Festival, and in fact we've had artists make repeat appearances over the years because it is an important event that enables them to reach our audiences and enhance their careers.' The post Trump's New FCC Chair Investigates iHeartMedia for Possible 'Payola' Violations appeared first on TheWrap.
