Tickets for the 31-concert Meijer Gardens summer series went on sale today and eight concerts — from Styx to The Temptations — sold out in the first half-hour and six more within 45 minutes. See which shows sold the fastest.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: By 5:30 p.m. Saturday, three more concerts had sold out: the May 30 series-opening concert featuring the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Aug. 12’s Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ Band show and the July 26 return of The Beach Boys.
Not surprisingly, Jason Mraz’s debut at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park was a very hot ticket.
The pop star and uber-popular singer-songwriter’s July 25 concert at the amphitheater with special guest Brett Dennen sold out to Meijer Gardens members in six minutes this morning.
And that was just the beginning of the flurry of buying during the first morning of summer series ticket sales to Meijer Gardens members: Six shows sold out in less than 15 minutes, with concerts by The Temptations/The Four Tops, Styx, O.A.R., Alison Krauss and Michael Franti & Spearhead joining Mraz as the fastest sellers of the day. Sellouts for Jackson Browne and Toad the Wet Sprocket w/ The Verve Pipe followed soon after.
By 9:45 a.m., the Vince Gill, Toto, Old Crow Medicine Show, Fitz & The Tantrums, Trombone Shorty and Brandi Carlile shows were sold out. By the end of the day, the total number of sellouts had increased to 17, including the May 30 series-opening concert featuring the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Aug. 12’s Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ Band show and the July 26 return of The Beach Boys.
That left some concertgoers very happy and others very frustrated.
Randy Wickham of Dewitt arrived before 2 a.m. to be one of the first in line and snagged tickets to Browne’s June 6 concert and Old Crow Medicine Show’s June 25 show. “I’ve been here so many years and these concerts can sell out so quickly, and I thought Jackson Browne might sell out fast,” he said.
Duane and Ellen Everest of Rockford were also near the front of the line thanks to arriving before 3 a.m. and walked away with tickets to Browne and the Aug. 1 Styx concert — both of which sold out quickly.
“We love coming here and we love the venue,” said Ellen Everest, noting that they always meet a lot of people in line.
Her husband called it a “pre-party for the party. It’s old-school. You’ve gotta wait in line to get tickets.”
Others, however, weren’t so fortunate.
One Rockford resident and longtime Meijer Gardens concertgoer said he was upset because he arrived at 3:30 a.m. and still failed to snag tickets to The Temptations. “I never got a chance. It’s aggravating,” he said, declining to give his name but insisting Meijer Gardens should make tickets available to those in line exclusively first before putting them up for sale online.
Discounted concert tickets went on sale to Meijer Gardens members at 9 a.m. today (April 28). Public sales begin at 9 a.m. May 12 after the pre-sale period ends. Many of the concerts each year sell out to members before the public sales begin; eight shows sold out in the first hour last year; that many sold out in less than a half-hour this year. Some tickets for sold-out shows occasionally are released at a later date, depending on ticket “holds” for bands and promotional purposes.
By the way, concertgoers attending shows this summer will find new fixed seats for VIP and sponsor ticketholders at the upper portion of the 1,900-capacity amphitheater. (The main concession stand will be replaced with a new, larger facility after the 2018 concert season.)
Check out the full 2018 concert schedule below, with a photo gallery from today’s ticket sales hubbub.
2018 MEIJER GARDENS CONCERT SERIES SCHEDULE
Tedeschi Trucks Band, May 30 at 6:30 p.m., $75 presale | $78 member | $80 public
Gladys Knight, June 3 at 7 p.m., $68 presale | $71 member | $73 public
The Decemberists, June 4 at 7 p.m., $52 presale | $55 member | $57 public
Jackson Browne, June 6 at 7 p.m., $72 presale | $75 member | $77 public
The B-52s, June 8 at 7 p.m., $57 presale | $60 member | $62 public
Fitz and the Tantrums, June 10 at 7 p.m., $47 presale | $50 member | $52 public
Brandi Carlile, June 13 at 6:30 p.m., $56 presale | $59 member | $61 public
Alison Krauss, June 17at 7 p.m., $84 presale | $87 member | $89 public
Seal, June 20 at 7 p.m., $91 presale | $94 member | $96 public
Old Crow Medicine Show, June 25 at 7 p.m., $45 presale | $48 member | $50 public
Herbie Hancock, June 27 at 7 p.m., $57 presale | $60 member | $62 public
Blondie, June 29 at 7 p.m., $82 presale | $85 member | $87 public
Michael Franti & Spearhead (replacing Huey Lewis & the News), July 8 at 7 p.m., $47 presale | $50 member | $52 public
Patti LaBelle, July 13 at 7 p.m., $75 presale | $78 member | $80 public
The Temptations & The Four Tops, July 15 at 6:30 p.m., $58 presale | $61 member | $63 public
Joe Jackson, July 20 at 7 p.m., $45 presale | $48 member | $50 public
Dispatch wsg Nahko & Medicine for the People, July 23 at 5:45 p.m., $55 presale | $58 member | $60 public
Jason Mraz wsg Brett Dennen, July 25 at 6:30 p.m., $83 presale | $86 member | $88 public
The Beach Boys, July 26 at 7 p.m., $64 presale | $67 member | $69 public
Air Supply, July 29 at 7 p.m., $50 presale | $53 member | $55 public
Styx, August 1 at 7 p.m., $72 presale | $75 member | $77 public
Vince Gill, August 6 at 7 p.m., $62 presale | $65 member | $67 public
TajMo: The Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’ Band, August 12 at 7 p.m., $59 presale | $62 member | $64 public
Toad the Wet Sprocket & The Verve Pipe, August 19 at 6:30 p.m., $44 presale | $47 member | $49 public
Trombone Shorty’s Voodoo Threauxdown featuring Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Galactic, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, New Breed Brass Band + special guests, August 22 at 6 p.m., $75 presale | $78 member | $80 public
Alabama, August 23 at 7 p.m., $150 presale | $153 member | $155 public (Benefit for “Welcoming
the World: Honoring a Legacy of Love” capital campaign)
TOTO, August 24 at 7 p.m., $53 presale | $56 member | $58 public
O.A.R. wsg Matt Nathanson, August 26 at 6:30 p.m., $75 presale | $78 member | $80 public
Lyle Lovett and his Large Band, August 27 at 7 p.m., $63 presale | $66 member | $68 public
Lake Street Dive, August 30 at 7 p.m., $48 presale | $51 member | $53 public
+LIVE+, September 3 at 7 p.m., $60 presale | $63 member | $65 public
PHOTO GALLERY: Meijer Gardens’ First-Day Ticket Sales
Photos by Kendra Kamp
Copyright 2018, Spins on Music LLC