Promoter Jade Presents declares bankruptcy

June 15th, 2026

By Bryce Vincent Haugen

The curtain has come down on Jade Presents. Fargo-Moorhead’s largest event promoter has brought thousands of shows — more than 150 per year — and hundreds of artists to the area over the past 36 years.

On May 28, the company posted a message to its Facebook account calling it quits, leaving a music scene devastated by the loss of a promoter, Jade Nielsen, who allowed the F-M area to punch above its weight as far as acts brought to town. Nielsen booked shows as varied as The Shins and Modest Mouse to Sturgill Simpson and Chance the Rapper, just to name a few.

At the same time, there are scores of angry ticket holders for cancelled shows scheduled at the Bluestem Center for the Arts and UP District Festival Field, who are unlikely to see full or partial refunds. The Fargo Theatre and The Aquarium are working to keep their scheduled Jade Presents shows on the calendar.

The sudden announcement caught the average concertgoer off guard. But according to a few people in the music industry and those adjacent to it (who spoke to High Plains Reader on condition of anonymity), the writing has been on the wall for months. That speculation circulating around social media infuriated some ticket holders, who were upset the company continued to sell tickets for shows they allegedly knew would be canceled up until — and in at least a few cases, after — the May 28 Facebook announcement on the company’s page. Jade Presents’ closure also left another urgent question: Who will fill the void in bringing top name acts to the area?

On June 8, KFGO reported that Jade Presents filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 6 in the District of North Dakota. The company, KFGO reports, lists assets of around $393,000 and liabilities at nearly $2.9 million, with the estimated number of creditors between 5,000 and 10,000.

Jade Presents announces

“Since day one, we knew this industry has operated on faith and momentum. The impact, the job, the community building, and the shared experiences made that worth it,” Jade Presents wrote in their closure announcement. “Which is why this ending is so incredibly painful…These events were never just concerts to us. They were memories, traditions, community gathering points and shared experiences that mattered deeply to our audiences, partners and team.”

The live entertainment industry changed dramatically over the past several years with rising costs, shifting touring economics and increasing pressure on independent promoters, the Jade Presents closure announcement said.

“Our team fought incredibly hard to keep this going for as long as possible,” the post continued, “and we are proud of the passion, sacrifice and heart that went into that effort.”

The company added that, because legal matters were still unfolding, they “cannot provide definitive information regarding ticketing refunds, reimbursements, credits, claims or related processes.”

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