A Labor Day weekend concert featuring rap artists from Mobile was billed as an end of summer “pool & beach bash” at the largest venue on Alabama’s lone barrier island.

But in the days leading up to Pirate’s Bar & Grill’s concert, some board members with the Dauphin Island Property Owners Association (DIPIOA) claimed the concert wasn’t happening because the bar’s owner didn’t secure the appropriate insurance policy. Facebook posts reportedly marked DIPOA members “Safe from the 2023 Dauphin Island Beach Concert Riot.”

There was no riot, and no violence of any note. One of two lawsuits, filed Jan. 11 in Mobile County Circuit Court, seeks damages up to $1.6 million for breaches of contract, and intentional actions aimed at hurting a bar that is Dauphin Island’s largest employer. A second lawsuit accuses the DIPOA of defamation and slander.

Pirates Bar & Grill, owned by Philip Patronas, leases the old Isle Dauphine Clubhouse that includes a pool and beach house and a circular-shaped building on Dauphin Island’s Ocean Drive. Pirates Bar & Grill has operated at the site since 2015.

“This property would not be open or active,” said Patronas, during a nearly two-hour Aug. 28 special meeting before the DIPOA in which the Sept. 2 concert was the subject of concern, and a vote was taken on whether to shut it down. “It was borderline bankrupt. There is not a restaurant (at the property) without us. I’ve maintained and repaired everything. I was trying to bring in a show that was unique … it backfired unfortunately.”

Immoral activity

The Aug. 28 meeting sparked spirited remarks over concerns about hosting a concert next to a public beach where “children and families will be on Labor Day weekend.” Board members objected to some of the artists who were set to perform, citing their “violent history.” The concert was headlined by artists NoCap, MGM Lett and BSC Ziggy – all Black musicians. The lawsuit claims the board felt the concert was in violation of an “unsubstantiated morality clause.”

A second concert, on Sept. 3, featured local country artists – Jon Langston, Ryan Dyer, and Jonboy Storey. The country acts, all white performers, did not stir any debate among board members who, during the Aug. 28 meeting, questioned whether they were being hypocritical about objecting to the contents of the rap performers when they, themselves decades ago, were listening to songs like “Cocaine,” a 1976 title by Eric Clapton.

“My daddy thought I was going to hell in a hand basket because I loved hard rock music,” said board member Merrill Mitchell. “I still do. I try to be a good person, but with that said, we cannot police everything.”

Dennis Knizley, a board member and attorney from Mobile, said it wasn’t fair to compare classic rock songs like “Cocaine,” to modern hip-hop music with references to guns, violence, and drugs.

“We all know what moral standards are in a community,” he said during the meeting. “It’s not a matter of free speech. (The songs from the artists) talk about gun violence. You talk about hoes. It’s clear to anyone that this is immoral activity. There is a social conscious we all have, and this is not a moral activity.”

The board voted 6-3 on Aug. 28 to not discontinue the concert. The concert took place, but the lawsuit claims the board’s resistance in the weeks and days before it depressed turnout. Patronas has also “lost valuable relationships for future music series events due to the obstructionist and discriminatory efforts” by the DIPOA.

Liability insurance

A central concern in the lawsuit is that Patronas was required to secure an additional $5 million commercial liability insurance policy that included coverage for assault and battery. That requirement, the lawsuit claims, was not “legally required and was unattainable.”

The lawsuit also alleges the DIPOA distributed a mass email that falsely stated “our lessee has failed to meet the agreed upon deadline of noon today to provide documentation of adequate insurance to cover the event scheduled for Labor Day weekend. We have instructed the lessee not to conduct the activity on the premises.”

Knizley, who was speaking individually and not on behalf of the entire board, told AL.com last fall that the Labor Day weekend event was being held “outside what the traditional restaurant business” allows and required special events insurance.

He said there was no insurance for the event to take place. He said that deadlines were set, and Patronas missed them.

“We decided that we could not go forward without the insurance and put the association at risk,” Knizley said. He said that Patronas did submit an insurance policy quote of $1 million ahead of the concert but did not submit an actual policy.

“The issue was insurance, no question about it,” Knizley said. “People have their different choices of music. But some hip-hop music is dramatically different from others.”

Violent pasts

Knizley noted the violence has occurred during NoCap performances, including a 2019 incident outside a night club in Warner Robbins, Ga., in which a security guard was killed by an employee of the artist. He also said the Easter 2018 shooting death of a 15-year-old at the Grand Hall in Mobile occurred during a NoCap performance.

Another one of the artists, Knizley said, had been previously arrested in a drug case in Mobile.

“It caused us concerns about liability,” Knizley said. “Because of some of the history of the performers, and not so much the content of the presentation, it seemed to be an elevated risk for potential violence especially with two murders taking place at a concert.”

Knizley noted that the Dauphin Island Town Council had no problems with the concerts, and OK’d Patronas’ request during a meeting in August.

“The POA is a separate entity, and we represent 3,300 members who owner property on Dauphin Island,” Knizley said. “(Pirates Bar & Grill) is owned by the POA and, of course, if there were landlord liability or injury, we are responsible for the 3,300 people we represent, and our assets. The $5 million didn’t seem like a high amount to me.”

Knizley also said he had concerns with how Patronas handled lining up the concerts before the event took place. He said the DIPOA was only notified about the concert two weeks before it was supposed to take place, despite reports he said that Patronas had been planning on organizing it since February.

“He said he had six security guards, but two off-duty police officers,” Knizley said. “My research in that regard is that if you have eight police officers, and he was anticipating 2,500 to 3,000 (attendees) … a standard for an outdoor concert is it comes down to one security guard for every 100 people. (Patronas’ plan) would have been woefully inadequate.

Race issue

Knizley said he would prefer the venue not host any concert of any genre. That might be an issue, as the venue not had any general liability insurance coverage since October, according to DIPOA board members during a Jan. 18 meeting.

But as far as special event coverage, the lawsuit claims that the DIPOA did not request additional coverage during past concerts. That includes a 2022 event held at Pirates Bar & Grill, featuring three country music artists. According to the lawsuit, the artists – “like other genres, featured lyrics about coming of age, sexual relationships, pre-martial dating, partying, and even rural life and conflict.”

The lawsuit was filed by Mobile attorneys Moshae Donald and Marcus Foxx. Neither responded Monday to a request for comment. Patronas was unavailable for comment last fall after the Labor Day concert.

The DIPOAA also did not respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit notes that the DIPOAA was organized “to serve the interests of Caucasian property owners in 1963,” but that it eventually would evolve to allow all races, creeds and colors to be associated with the association.

“I don’t think Black or white has anything to do with it,” Knizley said. “I wouldn’t want David Allen Coe and a few other artists performing there. I want Dauphin Island, personally, to be a family-friendly place. If someone wants to make it a race issue, that’s their business. Race is not the issue, but it’s the content of the music. David Allen Coe is the perfect example. He’s tame, but he has music that could rival No Cap and company.”