As in past years, our coverage of Meijer Gardens’ opening-day salvo of ticket sales for its summer concert series got plenty of attention. Revisit the story and the fallout here.
Crowd-Pleaser: Michael Franti & Spearhead sold out their 2023 Meijer Gardens show quickly. (Photo/Jamie Geysbeek)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Our countdown of the top stories of 2023 continues today with No. 10: The opening day flurry of sales for tickets to summer concerts at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
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It was another sure sign of spring: the rush by members of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park to snag tickets for in-demand summer concerts at the outdoor amphitheater in Grand Rapids Township.
It didn’t take long for the April cavalcade of online and phone ticket sales to produce the first sellouts of the concert season: 12 sold-out concerts in just the first hour of sales, with four more just a few minutes later — meaning some unhappy fans didn’t snag tickets to the shows they wanted.
Tickets went on sale to Meijer Gardens members at 9 a.m. April 22, and within 45 minutes, seven concerts had sold out, starting with Michael Franti & Spearhead’s June 15 return to the amphitheater. Franti, with his uplifting mix of reggae, funk, folk, rock and pop, has become an ever-popular regular returnee in the series.
It took just 30 minutes to sell out that show, followed by Train (Aug. 7), Maren Morris (Aug. 18), Peter Frampton (June 19), Andy Grammer (July 23), The Revivalists & Band of Horses (July 31) and The Beach Boys (Aug 21), who have become one of Meijer Gardens’ “house bands” over the years with annual tour stops at Meijer Gardens.
Making Their Meijer Gardens Debut: The Revivalists, who sold out their show quickly. (Courtesy Photo)
By 10 a.m., four more shows had hit the “SOLD OUT” level: Boz Scaggs with Keb’ Mo’ (Aug. 3), Three Dog Night (Aug. 13), Ben Folds with the Grand Rapids Symphony (July 20), Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit (Aug. 6) and Kalamazoo progressive bluegrass band Greensky Bluegrass (June 28).
Just a few minutes after 10 a.m., tickets also were gone for O.A.R. (June 11), Amos Lee with the Grand Rapids Symphony (July 26), Trombone Shorty (July 19) and Melissa Etheridge (July 24).
Some potential buyers, however, weren’t happy with their experience in attempting to buy tickets the first morning of sales.
“It was an absolute nightmare,” Barbara Hass wrote on Facebook. “Horrible user interface.”
Another user called the platform “unacceptable this year.” Local Spins reader Debbie Chilver Schut said “going into panic mode trying to buy over-priced tickets is not my idea of fun.”
Meijer Gardens later apologized to members for the ticketing snafus for some orders via eTix.
“Thank you to all of you that have reached out sharing your concerns; our team is working hard to reply to everyone who we have heard from,” Meijer Gardens wrote in an email. “This experience was clearly not what was planned for, nor what we expect from our partners.”
The email also included a statement from Etix: “Unfortunately, many members bypassed the established ticket carting process and were routed to a longer purchase queue, resulting in extended wait times and tickets lost due to cart timeout for some members. … We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.”
The average public ticket price of $72.90 for the 2023 series was about $1 less than the average price in 2022.
Copyright 2023, Spins on Music LLC
