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Councilman Justin McLaughlin and Mayor Jeanne-Anne Napolitano said that a man at the meeting who said that he was "a friend," in Napolitano's words, of Festival Network, the company that had run the 2007 and 2008 festivals, asked for the postponement because Festival Network and Wein were negotiating an agreement "and that they would resolve their differences soon."

McLaughlin said that a representative from Wein's New Festival Productions "indicated that they would like to go forward, but he didn't make a case that there would be an economic hardship" to a two-week delay.

Wein sold his original company, Festival Productions, to Festival Network in 2007. He was kept on as an employee of Festival Network, but says he hasn't been paid since November and considers himself a free agent.

Reached at his home in New York Thursday, Wein said Festival Network had contacted him, but that he was not working with them. "They keep talking to me," he said, "but there's nothing to negotiate."

His shows, to be known as George Wein's Folk Festival 50 and George Wein's Jazz Festival 55, are scheduled for July 31-Aug. 2 and Aug. 7-9, respectively.

Festival Network's license was terminated by the state Department of Environmental Management, which operates Fort Adams, in February for late payments of the state's share of festival revenues.

Last month, DEM granted Wein's New Festival Productions a one-year license to hold the shows.

In an e-mail Thursday, Festival Network CEO Chris Shields said, "Our intention remains to cooperate with all related parties to preserve the legacies of the 'Newport Jazz Festival' and 'Newport Folk Festival' ...

"As for the City Hall meeting, FN was not in attendance and does not have any new information to release at this time about related negotiations. We do hope to relay some very positive developments in the coming weeks."

"There are a lot of people who haven't been paid" by Festival Network for last year's festival, McLaughlin said, "and if giving them a couple of weeks to work with Wein means that they could come to some sort of resolution that allows some of those people to get some of their money - not that it's George Wein's responsibility to pay it -- I don't think that's a bad investment of some time."

"Clearly, we're all in favor" of the festivals going forward, McLaughlin said. "It gives them an opportunity, if they are working on something, to work something out."

McLaughlin said that the bar would be higher at the next meeting. If in two weeks no officials from Festival Network showed up at the meeting and gave a detailed rundown of contacts and negotiations with Wein, "I think the inclination of the council would be to just grant the licenses to Wein. ... I don't think anyone has any problems doing business with George Wein."

This is an updated version of a posting originally filed at 6:33 p.m.