Bimbé is back in 2025, with new safeguards after R&B singer Monica no-show debacle
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported how much Chris Weeks has repaid the city. It is nearly $10,000 of his $37,000 debt, the city attorney said.
Months after the agent responsible for booking the Bimbé Cultural Arts Festival headliner says he was scammed and the artist didn’t show, the city of Durham is still trying to collect on the bill.
Raleigh-based Chris Weeks, a booking agent the city said it had “worked with and trusted for years,” received $37,000 to book a performer for the popular annual event.
He promised Grammy-winning R&B artist Monica, but she was performing several states away and didn’t come.
Weeks told The News & Observer that a person claiming to be Monica’s agent conned him out of thousands of dollars.
“I was scammed, and the person who scammed me has paid me zero,” Weeks said in an interview Friday.
After agreeing to a payment plan in June and returning several thousand dollars to the city, Weeks quickly “fell off the wagon,” City Attorney Kimberly Rehberg told the City Council on Thursday.
“To date, Mr. Weeks has paid just under $10,000 of his original $37,000 debt,” Rehberg said in an email Friday.
Weeks said he has repaid $9,800 and been in touch with the city about resuming payments. Rehberg also confirmed that.
“In this economy, who else has thousands and thousands of disposable income to pay back after they’ve been scammed?” Weeks said Friday. “So, I’m really having a hard time grasping why everyone is coming for me.”
Weeks provided the city with receipts of sending $31,000 to five separate accounts in 2024, a records request revealed. He wired some of the money, but mostly used Cash App.
Weeks said he cooperated with a police investigation and that he has a lawyer going after whoever scammed him.
“I turned over all of the information. It was handled by the Durham Police Department, and there was no wrongdoing on my part,” Weeks said. “All I’ve done is attempt to make things right.”
Rehberg said a consent judgment enforcing the payment plan was recorded in court after Weeks stopped paying and will remain in effect for 10 years, unless the full balance is paid before then.
“He appears to be largely judgment-proof at this point. There’s nothing that we can levy on to collect,” Rehberg said.
55 years of Bimbé
Bimbé is in its 55th year, started by African American college students from Duke and N.C. Central universities to replicate and honor a West African tradition. Over the years, headliners have included Doug E. Fresh, MC Lyte, Da Brat and Juvenile.
This year’s festival will be held Saturday, May 17, and the headliner has yet to be revealed.
Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton said he was thrilled.
“I’ve already got my towel picked out and my spot on the lawn picked out,” he said. “It’s a super, super hot festival.”
For the 2025 show, the city contracted with an Atlanta-based company, HBCU Direct Touring. HBCU Direct’s website says they’ve booked appearances by Lil Wayne, Miguel, Melanie Fiona and more.
Durham is paying $56,000 for “a high caliber artist performance” lasting an hour. The contract includes the booking agent’s commission, plus all the artist’s fees and expenses.
To safeguard against last year’s debacle, new conditions were added to the city’s contract.
One requires the artist to post a video on social media announcing they’ll perform at Bimbé. Another requires the performance dates be listed on the artist’s official website.
This story was originally published February 7, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Bimbé is back in 2025, with new safeguards after R&B singer Monica no-show debacle."
