The June 27 Jackson Browne concert sold out in mere minutes Saturday morning, with Diana Ross, O.A.R., Bonnie Raitt, Gavin DeGraw, Goo Goo Dolls, Of Monsters & Men, America and Ben Folds following suit.
First to Go: Jackson Browne’s Meijer Gardens show sold out in nine minutes on Saturday morning. (Photo/Anna Sink)
EDITOR’S NOTE: By noon Monday, several more shows had sold out: Grace Potter, ABBA: The Tribute, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals, Lake Street Dive, Tedeschi Trucks Band and Fitz & The Tantrums. This brings the total number of sellouts to 24. Meijer Gardens reported Monday that 87 percent of all tickets for the series have been sold.
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The long lines early Saturday morning told the story yet again, the scene playing out like Black Friday for concerts.
Queuing Up: The line at Meijer Gardens for member ticket sales on Saturday morning. (Photo/Ricky Olmos)
Some fans queued up at 5 a.m., four hours before ticket sales began, and within 97 minutes, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park had sold out a record 13 concerts during the first day of pre-sales to Meijer Gardens members for the 2016 summer concert series. And before noon, 17 concerts had sold out.
The June 27 Jackson Browne concert slated for the 1,900-capacity amphitheater sold out in just 9 minutes, followed immediately by Bonnie Raitt’s Aug. 31 show with Richard Thompson.
By 10:37 a.m., the sellouts included Gavin DeGraw & Andy Grammer, Of Monsters & Men, Diana Ross (the most expensive ticket at $95 for members), O.A.R., America, Goo Goo Dolls, Ben Folds, Tears for Fears, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Decemberists and Ziggy Marley. Toto, The Beach Boys, Michael Franti & Spearhead and Gregg Allman sold out shortly thereafter, which means more than half of this year’s 30-concert series already is sold out.
Meijer Gardens members waiting in the winding line that stretched out into the covered atrium could be heard wailing in dismay as the concerts they’d hoped to attend were listed off.
Several other shows — Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Grace Potter and an ABBA tribute — were “very close” to selling out by mid-day.
Meijer Gardens public relations manager John VanderHaagen said tickets sold Saturday at the fastest pace ever for a summer concert series, without any hitches or computer issues.
“We are extremely grateful to have a beautiful venue here in town,” he said. “And the community really reacts and comes to support the shows.”
Among them were Meijer Gardens members Ann Miller, Cathy Kubiak, Trish English, Cindy Garstka and Sue Schamel who were among the first in line and arrived at 5 a.m. to wait for doors to open. The group barely missed out on Of Monsters and Men, but were able to score tickets to see Grace Potter, Lyle Lovett and Gavin DeGraw.
Group Sales: Ann Miller, Cathy Kubiak, Trish English, Cindy Garstka and Sue Schamel once again scored tickets to Meijer Gardens show. (Photo/Ricky Olmos)
“We go see him every year,” Garstka said of Lovett. “It’s a beautiful venue, it’s outside and it’s small, so you can get up close.”
Mike Wolfe wasn’t able to land tickets for Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne as he’d hoped, but walked away with a pair of tickets to see the Tedeschi Trucks Band and comedian Jay Leno.
“It’s the best place to see a concert at,” Wolfe said of the outdoor amphitheater, as he smiled and fanned out his crisp tickets.
But many non-members — and some Meijer Gardens members, too — took to Facebook and social media to complain about the ticketing process, expressing frustration at being unable to get tickets to desired shows and urging Meijer Gardens to limit the number of tickets that members can purchase.
The pre-sale period for Meijer Gardens members began at 9 a.m. today and ends at midnight May 13. Public sales begin at 9 a.m. May 14, with tickets available online at startickets.com, by phone at 1-800-585-3737 or in person at the Meijer Gardens admission desk.
The first-day ticket sales outpaced those from 2015, when five shows sold out within 20 minutes and a dozen within two days.
Get the full 2016 schedule and a rundown of this summer’s shows in this Local Spins story.
PHOTO GALLERY: Meijer Gardens Ticket Sales photos by Anna Sink and Ricky Olmos
