Building owners say the promoter also fell more than $100,000 behind on rent, while performers pursue payment and future shows remain listed online.
To The Ceiling Entertainment is out at Salem’s Historic Grand Theatre, ending the Hussey brothers’ run as operators of the downtown performance space as a widening group of performers and event organizers say they are still waiting to be paid.
The split also leaves questions for customers who bought tickets to future shows. Some Grand Theatre events remained advertised online Thursday even as the building’s owners search for a new operator and the former promoter faces payment claims from several directions.
One distinction has become particularly important as the dispute has spread across social media: To The Ceiling Entertainment did not own the Grand Theatre building.
The Meduri family purchased Salem’s Historic Grand in 2015. To The Ceiling, operated by Salem brothers Andrew and Alex Hussey, handled live entertainment and theatre operations under a lease. Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission records from 2024 list both brothers as licensees for To The Ceiling at the property. The Grand’s own website separately lists Cinjoe LLC for building operations, rentals and leasing.
That relationship has now ended. The building owners said To The Ceiling was removed from the property this week after failing to resolve more than $100,000 in back rent. The owners said they do not yet know what comes next for the theatre and would need another operator to bring shows to the space.
The public unraveling began with an Aug. 8 show featuring Portland nu-metal band Amerakin Overdose alongside Proven and Pitch Black Mass.
Cody Perez of Amerakin Overdose said the agreement called for the first $250 in proceeds to go to the sound engineer, with the three bands collectively receiving 75% of ticket revenue and To The Ceiling receiving 25%. Perez said records available to the bands showed 156 advance tickets at $20, with approximately 180 tickets believed to have been sold once door sales were included. He said the bands never received a final ticket accounting or payment.
Perez’s public complaint lists about $3,700 as the amount in dispute. He described repeated attempts to obtain payment after the show, including promises of a later payment timeline. In an Aug. 21 message included in the material provided to Salem Business Journal, Alex Hussey told Perez, “My hands are literally tied. More will come to light in the future and you’ll understand.”
Perez said this week that Amerakin Overdose has now filed a small claims case and a report with Salem police. On Thursday, he posted another public appeal asking other performers who believe they lost money working with To The Ceiling to document their own experiences. A police report is not a finding of criminal wrongdoing, and no court has ruled on Perez’s payment claim.
The Amerakin Overdose dispute is no longer isolated.
Portland Wrestling has said it is still owed money after a check from To The Ceiling bounced, and that it stopped holding events at the Grand. The promotion had staged several events there this year, including an Aug. 15 show advertised by the venue. A Pink Floyd tribute act, In The Pink, has also said it was awaiting payment from a June performance.
Tuna and the Rock Cats Rescue has separately said it was owed about $27,000 connected to events in 2025. Perez said he contacted the nonprofit and was told an amount remained outstanding, though he acknowledged he could not independently verify the organization’s full claim.
Another financial concern involves events that had not yet happened. Cassandra Rose, co-producer of Belly Dancer USA, said the organization had prepaid about $6,000 toward its next annual event and feared that money could be lost.
The Better Business Bureau opened a file on To The Ceiling Entertainment on Aug. 28. The company is currently listed as not rated while the organization evaluates what it describes as one or more serious complaints. BBB records identify Andrew Hussey as a member of the LLC. A BBB listing, however, is not a court finding and the organization says information supplied by third parties is not independently guaranteed.
Salem Business Journal reached out to Andrew Hussey for comment on the payment claims and To The Ceiling’s departure from the Grand and is awaiting his response.
The company’s financial problems may be growing beyond the disputes already made public. Bankruptcy has also been discussed in connection with To The Ceiling Entertainment, though no filing had been confirmed as of Thursday.
The sudden change also leaves the status of upcoming shows unclear. Events continued to appear on the Grand’s calendar and on performers’ tour schedules after To The Ceiling’s departure, including October dates that had already been advertised to the public. An Oct. 17 event remained posted on the venue calendar, while comedian Gary Gulman’s official tour schedule continued to list an Oct. 12 Salem performance at the Grand.
For people holding tickets, that means the immediate question is no longer simply who is owed money. It is whether their scheduled event will happen, move elsewhere or be canceled, and who will be responsible for refunds if it does not.
The Grand itself remains a separate property from the failed relationship with its promoter. The building has stood downtown since 1900, and its theatre can accommodate roughly 400 people. Whether another operator can step in quickly enough to preserve upcoming bookings is now the next question for one of downtown Salem’s most recognizable entertainment spaces.