photo credit: Noah Abrams/KRCB
Peacetown's Community Market stage at
the Barlow in Sebastopol.

Peacetown is the free, decade-plus-old summer concert series currently underway in Sebastopol. Earlier this month, a local journalist published an article detailing her investigation into questions over financial actions of founder and president Jim Corbett - better known as Mr. Music.

That article quotes Elizabeth Smith, former executive director of the Peacetown nonprofit that organizes the concert series, who has accused Corbett of misappropriating money meant for the organization.

Those allegations were made public in an investigation published last Thursday in the Sonoma County Gazette. KRCB News spoke with Amie Windsor, the article's author and Sonoma County Gazette's publisher/editor. Click play on the audio file above to hear that interview.

In response, four members of Peacetown's board of directors - Kate Aldrich, Francis Rico, Jasmine David and Onye Onyemaechi, - sent a statement to KRCB News on Wednesday morning. 

"The article published in the Sonoma County Gazette and your subsequent interview with Amie Windsor which alleges misappropriation of funds by Jim Corbett, Peacetown founder and Board President was one-sided and misleading. We, the Peacetown Inc board members, firmly reject the allegations detailed in the article and interview. We stand behind Jim and his efforts to bring a bit of peace into our world through the Peacetown Summer Concert series supported by the efforts and generosity of our sponsors, donors and volunteers, as well as the City of Sebastopol.

The Board has taken the allegations made by the 2 former board members, one of whom became our first executive director this past January, very seriously since first brought forward in February. A thorough review of Peacetown, Inc and Mr. Music Foundation transactions, with professional assistance, has found nothing to support the allegations against Jim Corbett or the remaining board members"

All of our board members recognize that we have fiduciary responsibility not only to Peacetown, Inc but to our community at large. We are very distressed that 2 former members have breached this responsibility by continuing to insist that Jim Corbett misappropriated funds despite there being no evidence that he, or anyone else on the Peacetown board, has done so."

KRCB News has requested interviews with Corbett, Kate Aldrich or someone who can speak on behalf of the board or organization, and will air those interviews should they occur. 

Editor's Note: KRCB News' interview with Windsor aired on Tuesday afternoon (7/11/23) and Wednesday morning (7/12/23). Prior to that, we requested comment from the board. This digital article has been updated to include quotes from a statement emailed to KRCB News on Wednesday, July 12.