Latest news with #Lowdown
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Concerts, ticket prices, bots and scalpers: The ingredients for a watchdog series
Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, fire was just invented by accident and printed newspapers were the primary source of information, I indulged my love for live music by buying tickets to the Schaefer Music Festival concert series in Central Park in New York City. For about nine years, spanning the late 1960s and into the mid-'70s, some of the best acts hit the Wollman Skating Rink stage. I ponied up the unheard-of price of $10 to hear Boz Scaggs perform his hit "Lowdown" and other numbers — and got a treat with the opening act, Maxine Nightingale. If you didn't have a ticket, you could sit on giant boulders nearby for free and hear just fine. The arena hosted so many shows of my early concert days: Allman Brothers, B.B. King, Marshall Tucker Band, Chicago and dozens of others. Back then, to get tickets you typically showed up with cash at a kiosk in Penn Station in Manhattan at Korvette's Department Store. The $10 price for Boz Scaggs was at the high end, and just before Dr. Pepper took over the operation. Tickets started at about $2 in the 1960s and jumped to $4.50 soon after — probably sending some concert fans into cardiac arrest. Today, if you paid a $4.50 fee on one of your tickets, you'd thank the music gods for the clerical error. MORE: Looming lawsuit could change the way we buy concert tickets - hopefully for the better MORE: Bots, scalpers send concert tickets through the roof, but look who gets the money Which is sort of why the Asbury Park Press, led by entertainment writer extraordinaire Chris Jordan, is embarking on a deep dive into the concert ticket world as the season ramps up and ticket prices continue to be an economic decision as much as an aesthetic one. As part of our commitment to watchdog investigative journalism, the Press is looking at a variety of Shore-related topics as the summer launches. From beach badge fees to beach replenishment, and from boardwalk rides and food vendor safety to tourism dollars, the Press will focus on the heart of what makes the Jersey Shore so special. And we thought, what is more summer at the Shore, and the rest of New Jersey, than music? Where once it was a fairly straightforward business transaction, the industry has turned into what is projected to be a $60 billion or so industry in the U.S. alone in 2025, according to IBISWorld. There have been some notable ugly milestones in the ticket buying milieu of late — Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen shows to name just two — that drove fans into a frenzy as ticket prices ballooned, spiraled out of reach for many, or forced some to take out loans (kidding. maybe) to see a show. But even on a smaller scale, with acts that are not global phenomenon events, it can be a harrowing experience timing your online buying moment to get two tickets to some show at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel. Minutes after going on sale, tickets can be gone on the primary market and moved into the secondary resale market, where the ticket prices do not resemble the primary prices. It can drive a fan to listen to Musak in an elevator instead of fighting for the golden ticket. Which brings us to Jordan's initial stories. First, he looks at the federal government's antitrust case against the music entertainment behemoth Live Nation and its trusty ticket vendor Ticketmaster. The two merged in 2010, but now the government thinks things have gone in the wrong direction, issuing this statement about the case: 'The thrust of the complaint is that Live Nation engaged in a variety of exclusionary conduct to maintain its monopoly over primary-ticketing services, and consumers suffered injury by using those services and getting overcharged,' said U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in his ruling. Our second story explores the roots of the ticket price escalation and its complex system of buying, selling, reselling, bots, scalpers and unenforceable laws because, as one expert said, the software and technology to workaround the rules is so advanced, lawmakers and their enforcement agencies can't keep up. In addition, our series will look at fan resignation, how showgoers can navigate the murky ticket-buying seas, bitcoin's role in the process, and do politicians have the appetite, as the late New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell once exhibited, to go after the ticket brokers and secondary market purveyors? In the end, we'll be able to look at how the season went, what happened to prices, how did fans react, and what will be the status of the federal lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster. That case is set for March 2026 in the Southern District Court in Lower Manhattan, ironically, just a few miles from where a young music fan snagged a Boz Scaggs ticket for $10. This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Live Nation, Ticketmaster: APP series looks at ticket prices
New York Post
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
How much are tickets to see Boz Scaggs on tour in 2025?
Vivid Seats is the New York Post's official ticketing partner. We may receive revenue from this partnership for sharing this content and/or when you make a purchase. Featured pricing is subject to change. We're so excited, we're already doing the 'Lido Shuffle.' Boz Scaggs just announced he's taking his timeless hits to venues all over North America on his 'Rhythm Review Tour' this fall. While on the road, the smooth classic rock legend will make not one, not two but three (!) New York and New Jersey stops. Advertisement First up, the 80-year-old icon swings into Rochester, NY's Kodak Center on Monday, Nov. 10. After that, Scaggs brings the 'Lowdown' to New York City's Beacon Theatre on Wednesday, Nov. 12 and Red Bank, NJ's Count Basie Center on Wednesday, Nov. 26. These shows will be his first in North America since his 'Summer '23 Tour.' At the last show on that run, the Ohio native performed 20 songs including his '70s 'Silk Degrees' hits, cuts from more recent records and a handful of old school covers, according to Set List FM. If you'd like to see him live, tickets are available for all 25 'Rhythm Review Tour' concerts as of today. Advertisement At the time of publication, the lowest price we could find on tickets was $72 including fees on Vivid Seats. Other shows have seats starting anywhere from $89 to $309 including fees. For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about Boz Scaggs' 2025 tour below. All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation. Boz Scaggs tour schedule 2025 Advertisement A complete calendar including all tour dates, venues and links to the cheapest tickets available can be found here: Boz Scaggs tour dates Ticket prices start at Oct. 17 at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, CA $196 (fees included) Oct. 19 at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto, CA $309 (fees included) Oct. 21 at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, CA $284 (fees included) Oct. 22 at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay in San Diego, CA $272 (fees included) Oct. 24 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA $220 (fees included) Oct. 25 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA $216 (fees included) Oct. 28 at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA $107.41 (fees included) Oct. 29 at Blue Note in Napa, CA $148 (fees included) Nov. 1 at the Paramount Theatre in Denver, CO $123 (fees included) Nov. 2 at the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts in Salina, KS $180 (fees included) Nov. 4 at The Factory in Chesterfield, MO $125 (fees included) Nov. 5 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, IL $89 (fees included) Nov. 7 at the Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, MI $281 (fees included) Nov. 8 at the Murat Theatre at Old National Centre in Indianapolis, IN $72 (fees included) Nov. 10 at the Kodak Center in Rochester, NY $107 (fees included) Nov. 12 at the Beacon Theatre in New York, NY $113 (fees included) Nov. 13 at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. $106 (fees included) Nov. 15 at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, PA $122 (fees included) Nov. 16 at the Chevalier Theater in Medford, MA $123 (fees included) Nov. 19 at the Altria Theater in Richmond, VA $129 (fees included) Nov. 20 at the Durham Performing Arts Center in Durham, NC $113 (fees included) Nov. 22 at the Atlanta Symphony Hall in Atlanta, GA $130 (fees included) Nov. 23 at The Pinnacle in Nashville, TN $120 (fees included) Nov. 25 at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg, PA $148 (fees included) Nov. 26 at the Count Basie Center in Red Bank, NJ $97 (fees included) (Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time. All prices are in US dollars, subject to fluctuation and, if it isn't noted, will include additional fees at checkout.) Vivid Seats is a verified secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand. Advertisement They offer a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and your tickets will be delivered prior to the event. Still curious about Vivid Seats? You can find an article from their team about why the company is legit here. Boz Scaggs set list Scaggs' most recent show in the U.S. went down at San Francisco's Fillmore on Aug. 26, 2023. Based on our findings at Set List FM, here's what he took to the stage at that gig. 01.) 'What Can I Say' 02.) 'JoJo' 03.) 'Sierra' 04.) 'Rock and Stick' 05.) 'Some Change' 06.) 'Last Tango on 16th Street' 07.) 'The Feeling Is Gone' (Bobby 'Blue' Bland cover) 08.) 'I Just Got to Know' (Jimmy McCracklin cover) 09.) 'Miss Riddle' 10.) 'It All Went Down the Drain' (Earl King cover) 11.) 'Those Lies' 12.) 'Harbor Lights' 13.) 'Georgia' 14.) 'Cadillac Walk' (Moon Martin cover) 15.) 'Radiator 110' 16.) 'Somebody (Loan Me a Dime)' (Fenton Robinson cover) 17.) 'Lido Shuffle' Encore 18.) 'Lowdown' 19.) 'Breakdown Dead Ahead' Encore II 20.) 'You Never Can Tell' (Chuck Berry cover) Boz Scaggs new music In July 2018, Scaggs dropped his 19th studio album 'Out Of The Blues.' Fans of soulful vocals and laid-back instrumentation (with a bit of hard-edged harmonica) are in for a treat. Over nine simultaneously melancholy yet uplifting tracks, the crooner shows off his powerful pipes and proves he's still got the goods. Advertisement Standout tunes here include the heartbreaking banger 'I've Just Got To Forget You,' jaunty 'I've Just Got To Know,' funky, slinky 'Those Lies' and rockin' 'Radiator 110,' which has a hair-raising build built within the middle stretch of the song. Still, our favorite has to be the crushing 'On The Beach.' Its heaviness is a marvel and something that only an artist with Scaggs' gravitas and experience could produce. If you'd like to hear yourself, you can find 'Out Of The Blues' here. Classic rockers on tour in 2025 Age is nothing but a number for rock's biggest stars from the '60s, '70s and '80s. Advertisement After doing a bit of research, our team found that many of the most iconic acts from way back when are still hoofing it this year. Here are just five of our favorites you won't want to miss live these next few months. • Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band • Paul Simon • Stevie Nicks Advertisement • The Who • Steve Miller Band Who else is out and about? Take a look at our list of all the biggest classic rockers on tour in 2025 to find the show for you. This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change
Sydney Morning Herald
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Every empty seat is a missed opportunity': QPAC's new boss brings back kids' festival Out of the Box
Rachel Healy has strong views on the role of theatre on impressionable young minds. At the age of eight she was taken by her parents to see the musical Annie at the Adelaide Festival Centre. Her mind was blown. 'I wanted to be on stage with those orphans,' she admits. Healy's first job out of the University of South Australia was assistant editor at youth arts magazine Lowdown, where one of her earliest topics was QPAC's brand new biennial children's festival, Out of the Box. Some 33 years later, Healy is now QPAC's chief executive, and one of her tasks has been bringing back Out of the Box after a seven-year hiatus. 'It probably should have come back in '23 or '24, but every organisation was rebuilding after COVID, including QPAC,' Healy says. Out of the Box is a six-day event (Tuesday to Sunday, June 17-22) showcasing seven mainstage shows for kids, plus over a dozen workshops and activities, held in QPAC's theatres, event spaces, and at the State Library and QAGOMA. Shows include adaptations of kids' books The Gruffalo and Gurril Storm Bird, while workshops cover mindfulness, dance, a Bluey Puppetry Workshop and a cooking workshop in the kitchens of QPAC's fancy restaurant, Lyrebird.
The Age
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
‘Every empty seat is a missed opportunity': QPAC's new boss brings back kids' festival Out of the Box
Rachel Healy has strong views on the role of theatre on impressionable young minds. At the age of eight she was taken by her parents to see the musical Annie at the Adelaide Festival Centre. Her mind was blown. 'I wanted to be on stage with those orphans,' she admits. Healy's first job out of the University of South Australia was assistant editor at youth arts magazine Lowdown, where one of her earliest topics was QPAC's brand new biennial children's festival, Out of the Box. Some 33 years later, Healy is now QPAC's chief executive, and one of her tasks has been bringing back Out of the Box after a seven-year hiatus. 'It probably should have come back in '23 or '24, but every organisation was rebuilding after COVID, including QPAC,' Healy says. Out of the Box is a six-day event (Tuesday to Sunday, June 17-22) showcasing seven mainstage shows for kids, plus over a dozen workshops and activities, held in QPAC's theatres, event spaces, and at the State Library and QAGOMA. Shows include adaptations of kids' books The Gruffalo and Gurril Storm Bird, while workshops cover mindfulness, dance, a Bluey Puppetry Workshop and a cooking workshop in the kitchens of QPAC's fancy restaurant, Lyrebird.
New York Times
08-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
5 Oilers takeaways: Draisaitl vs. MacKinnon for Hart, Knoblauch's iron fist and more
EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oilers hung tough with the Colorado Avalanche and battled back in a high-flying affair that had a little bit of everything. They still lost. Martin Necas scored the winner with 4:22 left in regulation to hand the Oilers a 5-4 defeat in their final game before the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Advertisement It was a turnover by Oilers winger Zach Hyman in the offensive zone that sparked the rush that led to Necas' decisive goal. Hyman wasn't alone in the puck mismanagement department. It was just that his error was the costliest. 'They're probably the most dangerous team off the rush and we kept feeding that transition,' Hyman said. 'I take responsibility for the last one. I tried to force it in there to make a play. Probably not the right time to do that against that line and they go and capitalize, and we lose the game.' The good news for the Oilers is they're 34-17-4 and remain in first place in the Pacific Division. But they limped into their respite by going 2-2-1 in their final five games. Both wins came in overtime after blowing third-period leads, too. That's the ugly part. 'The break comes at a right time for once,' superstar Leon Draisaitl said. 'Obviously (we need to) get back to playing collective good hockey when we come back.' Here are five takeaways from their pre-international tournament finale, things that speak to the bigger picture at hand. The Oilers never led against the Avalanche. The way the Oilers lost has become par for the course for most of the new year. Since their defeat in Pittsburgh on Jan. 9, Edmonton has allowed multiple goals in the first period in eight of the 15 games. They've also trailed at some point in 10 of those contests. That's not becoming of a Stanley Cup contender. 'I didn't love our game the last couple nights,' Draisaitl said. 'Maybe it's a little bit of fatigue kicking in or mentally we weren't as sharp as we needed to be.' The Oilers kept chipping away against the Avalanche but were the second-best team far too often. It's almost like being forced to do that so often has taken a toll on the players from the top of the lineup on down. Advertisement 'It's tough,' veteran winger Corey Perry said. 'All of a sudden, the big guys are playing 25, 26, 27 minutes because we're chasing the game early. 'We've talked a little bit about having better starts. This break probably came at a good time for us to regroup and take some time away from the game and come back refreshed.' "I think we had every opportunity to win that game after that penalty kill. We had some great chances going the other way & we didn't capitalize on those." Coach Knoblauch on the #Oilers third-period push after killing a 5-on-3.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers — Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 8, 2025 It feels like I get asked about Stuart Skinner and Evan Bouchard in each of my Tuesday appearances on the Lowdown with Lowetide on Sports 1440. That's not a criticism of host Allan Mitchell, my colleague here at The Athletic. It only makes sense. Skinner and Bouchard are crucial players to the Oilers. In Skinner's case, he's been one of the better goalies overall since late November. Bouchard boasts excellent underlying numbers. But they're also prone to making costly errors and that was apparent on Friday. Coach Kris Knoblauch noted and reacted. Skinner was pulled between the first and second periods after allowing three goals on 12 shots. Nathan MacKinnon beating him five hole and a Cale Makar attempt that he didn't catch got his coach's attention for the wrong reasons. 'The first two (goals against), I felt he could have had,' Knoblauch said. 'I didn't think he found those (shots) and was looking for them right.' Bouchard also had his struggles. He had a third-period shift where he caught up the puck twice in his zone. His biggest mistake came when he made a turnover after attempting to swing it back to Connor McDavid in the Oilers zone on an Oilers power play. That resulted in a short-handed marker by Makar. That kept him off the ice for almost four minutes. Advertisement Knoblauch ruled more with an iron fist than a feathered touch on Friday. 'It's happened to everybody,' Perry said. 'At a certain point in your career, it's going to happen. You use it as motivation, you do the right things, and you put it behind you and move forward. It's only going to make you better.' "They're more upset about the result tonight than individual achievements… They're chasing that big one & everyone else is as well." Corey Perry on Draisaitl & McDavid after Leon hit 40 goals.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers — Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) February 8, 2025 MacKinnon was the best player on the ice. It's nearly impossible to dispute that. He scored once and recorded three assists and was the driver on two of the last three goals the Avalanche netted. MacKinnon now leads the NHL with 87 points, four ahead of Draisaitl — who scored twice on Friday. If Draisaitl wasn't the Oilers' best player, he was certainly on the short list. Just add it to the number of outstanding performances from Draisaitl's season. He notched goals 39 and 40, which ranks atop all his league peers. Draisaitl got his first goal by winning a faceoff on a power play, sliding over to his one-timer spot and then letting one fly after getting a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. On his second, he danced around MacKinnon in the slot, shot as he fell and then roofed a rebound from his knees. 'He's got a knack,' Perry said. 'He continues to find ways. He's one of the best in the world for a reason. He shows it each and every night.' This could be shaping up to be an excellent Hart Trophy battle down the stretch, though Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck might have something to say about that. It's now five games into the John Klingberg era. Thoughts of him being a bona fide top-four blueliner for the Oilers should be shelved — at least for now. Advertisement Friday's outing was particularly tough for Klingberg. He was on the ice for two Avalanche goals at five-on-five. Though Klingberg just joined the fray off a line change, he didn't close his gap fast enough on MacKinnon on Colorado's third goal. That resulted in MacKinnon finding Artturi Lehkonen for a goal off the rush. He was caught up ice after Hyman's turnover on the winner. Per Natural Stat Trick, Klingberg's 32.2 expected goals percentage at five-on-five was fourth-worst on the team and ranked last among Oilers defencemen. He played 16:23, more than only Ty Emberson among Edmonton rearguards. The Oilers have seven more games before the trade deadline once their schedule resumes Feb. 22 in Philadelphia. They might need every one of those to understand what they have in Klingberg and what they need ahead of the trade deadline. Perry now has four goals in his last six games after scoring twice on Friday. He's up to 12 goals on the season, which is good for fifth on the team. 'He's a living legend in the game,' Draisaitl said. 'He's going to be a Hall of Famer. We're very fortunate that we have him.' Perry's 1.09 goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five ranks second on the Oilers behind Draisaitl's 1.17, per NST. That's quite the accomplishment for the 39-year-old, but it also speaks to the need for more offensive production up front. That could come in the form of more five-on-five goals from those on the roster. Of players with scoring chops, the Oilers could use a few more from Viktor Arvidsson (0.68 goals per 60 minutes), Nugent-Hopkins (0.59), Vasily Podkolzin (0.53) and Connor Brown (0.46). Failing a bump from them, it might behoove management to seek a scorer in the form of a top-nine winger before the trade deadline. (Photo of Leon Draisaitl racing for the puck against Colorado's Jack Drury: Leila Devlin / Getty Images)
