Grateful Dead ‘Fare Thee Well’ 50th Anniversary Celebration Sells Out Quickly As Expected

Grateful Dead ‘Fare Thee Well’ 50th Anniversary Celebration Sells Out Quickly As Expected
Aaron Fortin Story by: Aaron Fortin
Published: February 28, 2015

*UPDATE FROM THE GRATEFUL DEAD*
Thank you to all of the Deadheads for the amazing support that you have shown for the Fare Thee Well shows in Chicago! This morning you broke Ticketmaster’s on-sale record when nearly half a million of you queued up to buy tickets. If you do not have tickets, please know that we are working on various ways to help everyone experience these shows in a way that will help you share this special moment with us. Stay tuned, and thank you for showing your love, we feel it!

FARE THEE SORRY. As expected, The Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well event in Chicago over the Fourth of July weekend sold out quickly, with most fans being completely shut out of Ticketmaster’s online system. All three nights (180,000+ tickets) went fast, with some lucky fans scoring after waiting 45 minutes “in line.” If you weren’t in the queue by 10:05am CST you were probably already putting a social media finger in the air hoping for a miracle. The thousand-dollar-plus VIP packages sold out instantly on Friday as well, solidifying this event’s stature as the toughest ticket of the summer. It’s already a scalper’s paradise in the aftermarket with StubHub listing some tickets at $1500 each. Forbes has a breakdown of the current ticket market and Mashable quotes a StubHub agent saying this is the biggest event he’s seen in nine years of working for the company:

“The Super Bowl is always going to be bigger than anything. But this is definitely the biggest concert. By far. By far.”

Social media was abuzz during the entire process with positive reactions from the lucky ones and mostly negative (and humorous) reactions from the unlucky fans. It will be interesting to see what Peter Shapiro and his production team do to open this event up to the masses. A broadcast of some sort is certainly being scheduled, but it seems like most fans are in favor of a Couch Tour webcast, not just exclusive viewings at select theaters and Shapiro’s Brooklyn Bowl venues. We’ll keep you updated!

TWITTER REACTION


https://twitter.com/adamicculus/status/571704795439992832
https://twitter.com/jay_young/status/571720971612266496


https://twitter.com/samgmorrissey/status/571705310391500800
https://twitter.com/rowj/status/571706591042527234


https://twitter.com/therealburnham/status/571711099365548032


https://twitter.com/languagestrange/status/571712990866755584

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