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Alan Jackson will play |
BY JONAS BEALS
It depends on what the meaning of the word "free" is.
Most Louisa County residents learned Wednesday that the free Alan Jackson concert the tiny town of Mineral won last year will be anything but.
Only the 450-some residents of the town of Mineral will get into the May 20 concert without opening their wallets.
Everyone else will have to pay at least $42.50 to see the show--$49.75 with ticket fees.
"It seems to be stirring up some animosity toward the concert," said Mineral Mayor Pam Harlowe.
But the price might not put a dent in ticket sales. Harlowe said the initial allotment of 500 tickets sold out at the Mineral Municipal Building in about three hours Wednesday. They expect to receive 500 more Thursday.
Mineral won the concert in an eventful.com Internet contest. And though the contest had nothing to do with the August 23 earthquake centered near the town, the national notoriety gained from the unusual quake likely pushed Mineral to victory over much larger metropolitan areas. Kansas City came in second.
Harlowe said town officials decided to work with Jackson's Capitol Records team to make the concert a benefit for Louisa County schools. Profits from the concert will go into a fund to repair and rebuild Louisa County High and Thomas Jefferson Elementary schools, which suffered structural damage. The school projects are receiving funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and donations.
But just how much money Louisa schools might receive from the concert is unclear. Harlowe said the schools will get "any money above expenses."
Town officials don't know what it will cost to put on the concert, but they were told it could cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $200,000. She said there is no plan for Capitol Records to disclose its expenses to local officials, nor has the company indicated how much the concert might bring in for the schools.
So far, Mineral has had little to do with the production of the concert.
Harlowe said Capitol Records set the ticket price. Capitol also chose the location: the parking lot of Louisa County High, which is not in Mineral. Capitol also set the venue capacity at 6,000 patrons, and is billing the show as "The Aftershock of Hope."
Although Harlowe said the original contest contract called for a free concert for 1,000 to 3,000 fans, the fundraising nature of this particular concert opened the door to giving away fewer free tickets. Mineral officials have been going door-to-door to give those free wristbands to town residents.
"We didn't think we should get the concert for free," Harlowe said, speaking for the Town Council. She preferred doing away with free tickets altogether. "My suggestion was to have everyone pay the same price," she said.
While $42.50 tickets are not unusual for an Alan Jackson concert, they are a long way from free. They are also more expensive than the lawn seats for Jackson's Aug. 19 show at Wolf Trap in Vienna. Those go for $39.75, including ticket fees.
Harlowe said there was "a lot of hostility" from people purchasing tickets Wednesday.
"But it seemed like a lot of people wanted tickets," she said.
Jonas Beals: 540/368-5036
Email: jbeals@freelancestar.com
"Alan Jackson: Music
The country music star will play at Louisa County High School on Sunday, May 20, starting at 5 p.m.
Tickets range from $42.50 to $100 and are available at ticketfly.com or the Mineral Municipal Building.
