Eric Church’s Double Down Tour is the Right Way to Do It
One of the reasons scalpers and resellers have secured the upper hand when it comes to purchasing tickets for your favorite live act is because demand is outpacing supply. Artists love to show up to one market and play a massive sold out show, with some floor tickets exceeding $600 or more on the secondary market since there are way more fans than there are seats, buzzing the press about how popular an artist is. One way to solve the problem of ridiculous resale prices is by ramping up supply.
The way Garth Brooks officiated his comeback tour by adding shows until demand was satiated should be the model of the future. Eric Church doesn’t go quite that far, but with the dates of his recently-announced “Double Down” tour, he plans on playing consecutive days in all of the stops he makes, creating more supply without having to book bigger venues. The announced dates so far have Church hitting 19 different cities for a total of 37 shows. More dates and cities could be added in the future.
Along with creating more supply for fans, this also creates less stress on the artist and road crews. Instead of playing one night in a given market, then having to tear down and set up in another 24 hours later, they set up in a given venue, play a couple of shows, and have the whole week to get to the next stop. Also it allows artists to keep venue size under control and deliver a better show.
One drawback from the new Eric Church tour dates is once again he’s rolling without any opening acts. Where for years Church was one of the few mainstream acts willing to book cool openers like Marty Stuart, Dwight Yoakam and others, now going solo seems to be The Chief’s preference. Though this may make for a better presentation for Church, it takes away a precious slots for folks that may otherwise not receive that exposure.
Eric Church will also be selling tickets through his fan club first, and using Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program to also mitigate scalping. But in light of recent revelations on Ticketmaster’s gaming of their own reseller programs, who knows how much effect that will have.
Eric Church Double Down Tour Dates:
January 18, 2019 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center+
January 19, 2019 Omaha, NE CHI Health Center+
January 25, 2019 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center+
January 26, 2019 St. Louis, MO Enterprise Center+
February 1, 2019 Boston, MA TD Garden+
February 2, 2019 Boston, MA TD Garden+
February 8, 2019 Minneapolis, MN Target Center+
February 9, 2019 Minneapolis, MN Target Center+
February 15, 2019 Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena+
February 16, 2019 Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena+
February 22, 2019 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena*
February 23, 2019 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena*
March 1, 2019 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center+
March 2, 2019 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center+
March 8, 2019 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena+
March 9, 2019 Toronto, ON Scotiabank Arena+
March 15, 2019 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum+
March 16, 2019 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum+
March 22, 2019 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena*
March 23, 2019 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena*
March 29, 2019 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum+
March 30, 2019 Milwaukee, WI Fiserv Forum+
April 12, 2019 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center*
April 13, 2019 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center*
April 19, 2019 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena*
April 20, 2019 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena*
April 26, 2019 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena*
April 27, 2019 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena*
May 3, 2019 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena+
May 4, 2019 Pittsburgh, PA PPG Paints Arena+
May 10, 2019 Denver, CO Pepsi Center*
May 11, 2019 Denver, CO Pepsi Center*
May 17, 2019 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center*
May 18, 2019 Los Angeles, CA STAPLES Center*
May 25, 2019 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium#
June 28, 2019 George, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre#
June 29, 2019 George, WA The Gorge Amphitheatre#
+on sale October 5 at 10 a.m. local time
*on sale October 12 at 10 a.m. local time
#on sale October 19 at 10 a.m. local time
September 21, 2018 @ 11:54 am
I’m very excited. I wonder how many songs during the second show will be repeated. I’m guessing Church has a dozen songs (he must play) and then his new album (another 12), so fans who attend both shows (and there will be lots), should get to hear 10 new songs the second night.
Trigger, have you been listening to the early releases by Church. Any optimism on the album being more Misunderstood than Outsider?
September 21, 2018 @ 12:42 pm
I’m sure there are going to be a lot of hardcore Eric Church fans that will buy tickets to both nights, so I can see him needing to shake up the set list at least a little between shows.
I’ll listen to singles ahead of a release, but I try to avoid the “instant grat” tracks as the industry likes to call them. Especially with an artist like Church, the sequencing of songs is important, as is the overall album approach. If you listen to a bunch of songs too early, the whole record loses that new car smell. I’d rather get a big snoot full at once.
September 21, 2018 @ 12:03 pm
Very cool… but come on, Eric, you don’t get within six hours of me. It’s not like Philly is a small market!
September 21, 2018 @ 12:13 pm
Despite their Week 2 success against Clemson (a two-point loss late despite controversy), A&M opens as a 27-point underdog against the top-ranked team in the nation at Tuscaloosa. That spread may be more about the offensive prowess of the Crimson Tide than the newly minted 22nd-ranked team’s early success. The thing is, though, the spread is historic in its size. Searching back through the OddsShark database (beginning in 1998), there’s only one other game between two ranked teams with a spread this big: Florida State -30 vs Duke in 2013. Alabama is 20-0 SU in its last 20 games at home (avg. winning margin: 31.75).
Texas A&M is 2-10 ATS in its last 12 games on the road vs teams with winning records. Texas A&M lost by two points to Clemson on a last-minute play in Week 2.
September 21, 2018 @ 12:15 pm
”this also creates less stress on the artist and road crews. Instead of playing one night in a given market, then having to tear down and set up 24 hours later ..”
or as we often did on the road …..play two shows in a day …like Broadway .
makes absolute sense on so many fronts ….
sure … a bit more work on the band in a given day …..but c’mon ….musicians aren’t working on oil rigs or putting in 10-12 hour overtime shifts framing houses in the middle of December , for God’s sakes . have a nap between shows and your good to lift that heavy old Gibson for another couple hours before beer-thirty .
September 21, 2018 @ 12:26 pm
Jon Pardi would have been a great opening act for Eric Church. They are on the same Capitol too. Oh well… I wonder who Jon will be touring with in 2019? Maybe Garth brooks? Keith? Brad Paisley?
September 21, 2018 @ 12:35 pm
Eric Church is one of the mainstream acts I think is pretty close to real country these days. One of the few left.
Here’s how I’m envisioning the state of mainstream country in 2023:
Bryce Luke Craig has a 6-week #1 airplay hit with “She’s a Lil Hottie Thottie”
Beyonce and Lil Pump, Lil Boosie and Big Dickie feat. Florida Georgia Line have an 80 week Billboard Hot Country Songs #1 with “Dirty South Y’all”
September 21, 2018 @ 1:22 pm
Good for church, however I’m a huge fan and a little disappointed that this means he won’t be coming back to orange beach,al this year. Oh well.
On a side note I am really digging Heart Like A Wheel and Monsters. Really great songs.
September 21, 2018 @ 1:26 pm
Serious question, I know the running joke for a long time here was the way Church and his people portrayed him as a modern outlaw but 20 to 30 years down the road will we look back and say he actually was?
September 21, 2018 @ 1:32 pm
no
September 21, 2018 @ 1:46 pm
Not even close. I think the fact that your question has to be prefaced with “serious question” tells it all. Does anyone consider him to be an “outlaw” even in the current day?
September 21, 2018 @ 2:32 pm
I’ve never really considered him an outlaw. He just does shit his own way and that’s refreshing.
September 21, 2018 @ 1:29 pm
I heard EC duet with Hank Jr on SXM this morning. I believe it was Ready for the Country. He was just plain outclassed. Had no business singing with Hank Jr in any capacity. It really magnified how low we have brought the bar down for so-called superstars.
September 21, 2018 @ 1:30 pm
I bought Cody Jinks tickets today through Ticketmaster … 2 tickets @ $35 a piece… final cost: $99.73 (fees > than the cost of the ticket). Who are the scalpers again?
I should have waited and tried my luck on the secondary market.
September 21, 2018 @ 2:09 pm
So true. I live in Omaha and I’m very tempted to forgo the fan club presale and just buy at the door even though that means no pit.
September 21, 2018 @ 2:50 pm
No pit at the door?!
9 times out of 10 the scalpers or the secondary market (I use Vivid) gobbled up too much inventory and have to unload unsold tickets below face value without the surcharges. However, you have to wait until the week of or day of the show to take advantage of that situation (not for planners).
That 1 time out of 10 will cost you though. It backfired on me once and I paid heavy for a sold out Tom Petty concert last year (I was playing chicken on my phone a half hour after the doors opened). But, that was a few months before his death, so in retrospect I couldn’t put a price on it.
I don’t know why I jumped on Jinks today instead of waiting. I’ll watch the tickets the week of the show and probably be kicking myself.
September 21, 2018 @ 3:39 pm
Sadly in this day and age a concert ticket is like a share of stock. It could soar like with big name acts or it could go down in value on the day of the show all depending of course on supply/demand. I refuse to play the large venue ticket game so I’m at least glad many of my favorites don’t play them. Even small ticket venues have limits per buyer that are way too high. The show sells out and 500/1000 are up on StubHub an hour later. I’m still without a ticket for Tyler but I’ve got one for Whitey. 🙂
September 21, 2018 @ 3:45 pm
Tyler is the hottest ticket out there. Check out the secondary market on those babies $250-$500.
December 7, 2018 @ 1:52 pm
99 dollars a ticket, with 35 dollar face?
PLEASE explain the additional charges, NO WAY there was 64 dollars in fees and taxes.
December 7, 2018 @ 3:11 pm
Go back and read… 2 tickets @ $35 each = $70, my final cost $99.73. The fees (almost) = the face value of one ticket ($29.74). With frees, I essentially bought an extra ticket.
December 8, 2018 @ 5:09 pm
You stated the fees were more than the cost of the tickets.
So I assumed you meant the tickets were $99.73 each.
Do the math, if two tickets total were $99.73, and the face is $35.00 each
($70 total there), means the fees were less than $15.00 each, NOT as you said ((fees > than the cost of the ticket)).
It was YOU that stated the info wrong Einstein. SMH.
–
I bought Cody Jinks tickets today through Ticketmaster … 2 tickets @ $35 a piece… final cost: $99.73 (fees > than the cost of the ticket).
–
December 8, 2018 @ 5:29 pm
Again, please go back and read… I stated ticket, you keep saying tickets. The fees were (almost) as much as the face value of one ticket.
However, I was $6 off!! Tickets were $35 and the fees totaled $29.74. $6 more in fees, then fees would have been more than the price of one ticket! But, essentially, the fees nowadays are like buying an extra ticket (which was the overall point).
December 8, 2018 @ 6:38 pm
your spinning this info to make it sound worse than it is.
If the tickets were $35.00 each, that is $70.00 total for two.
Then add $29.74 fees/taxes for TWO tickets ($14.87 each basically) which then makes a grand total of $99.74.
So the taxes/fees per ticket were less than half of the single ticket price.
Right?
You can’t take the total taxes/fees and apply it to only one ticket when that number is for TWO tickets.
end of story
September 21, 2018 @ 7:43 pm
Best hundred you will ever spend tiger…Tone Deaf Cowboys worth every penny!
September 22, 2018 @ 7:50 am
In other concert ticket related news…. that Turnpike Troubadours/ Shooter/ Chris Knight show Sept. 2nd I went to that TT flamed out, Mission Tix refunded my tickets without me even asking. I wasn’t going to ask for a refund. I bought the tickets when it was announced Chris Knight was with full band and got extra Chris Knight because Felker is a mess.
The venue must have had insurance to cover the cancellation? See if TicketBastard would ever do that!
September 21, 2018 @ 1:52 pm
That seems like a great plan. The only downside I see is that, if you go to one of these shows, Eric Church will perform. If they can solve that, it will be perfect.
September 21, 2018 @ 7:20 pm
So edgy……..there are legit issues with country music these days. Eric Church is not one of them. He is a passionate and authentic to himself. You don’t have to like it but if you can’t acknowledge it you are trying to hard and probably sniff your own farts.
September 21, 2018 @ 2:49 pm
Also looks like he is taking Ticketmaster out of the equation all together on pit tickets. My fan club email says that all pit tickets will only be available to fan club members through Eric’s own app that is to be released.
September 21, 2018 @ 5:16 pm
Agreed that the only thing missing are opening acts.
With gas prices being what they are, I could see this two-night stand strategy turning a profit for younger artists if they bundled 2 or 3 acts like the L.S.D. Tour.
September 21, 2018 @ 7:50 pm
At least he’s being a good manager and knowing exactly what’s going on under his name. How easy it is to work for him? I don’t know. On the outside looking in, he’s doing a good job.
The fact that he doesn’t take any opening acts with him isn’t really bad at all. He’s not obligated to that. People know exactly what they’re getting when they purchase a ticket.
September 22, 2018 @ 6:17 am
Been hearing that Taylor Swift has been requiring her ticket-buyers to watch a set number of her videos before the sale is finalized in order to offset ticket bots. Wanted to get your opinion on that.
September 23, 2018 @ 9:25 am
Good lord, isn’t that cruel and unusual punishment? How can you force people to watch Taylor Swift videos and arrested? We stopped waterboarding people, how is this better?
September 22, 2018 @ 10:05 am
The Grateful Dead did this all the time, playing a week to ten days at the same venue sometimes.
Sure, some Deadheads would buy (or beg) tickets for every night, but the faithful fan who had a real life got chances to get in… They also supported bootlegging/taping provided the tapes were shared and not sold…
September 22, 2018 @ 10:46 am
It’s crazy impressive that an artist can sell out such large venues with multiple dates and no opening acts. I’m not sure why Church, and some other big acts, don’t take out other artists on tours like this. Is it to maximize their cut of ticket sales? Is it because of the length of their sets and performance curfews? Production logistics? Ego? I love big, lengthy performances from my favorite artists, but opening acts only add to the overall experience.
September 23, 2018 @ 9:03 am
This is going to be an unpopular opinion for sure, but its mine. I have been to COUNTLESS concerts in my life, and everytime except for 1 time the opening act didnt make an impression on me and I just wanted to get to the main act that I actually paid to see. I saw Eric twice on his last tour with no opener and it was honestly one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. Especially when you’re in the pit and you’ve already stood all day, openers seem to make your legs hurt more.
September 23, 2018 @ 9:12 am
I’m sure you’re not alone in that sentiment, and it’s an entirely understandable perspective. Personally, I’ve always been more than happy to stand through a few hours of performances. I love a good festival or large line-up of opening acts, even if there’s an artist or two that fail to impress. More bang for my buck, and very often an artist whose studio work has me on the fence can win me over with their live show. I’m just curious as to the reason behind Church’s decision to go solo. Maybe it’s for fans like yourself? I’d love to know.
September 23, 2018 @ 9:29 am
No doubt I’ve seen some opening acts that I not only don’t remember, but don’t want to remember. But then I remember seeing Buddy and Julie Miller open for Steve Earle. And I remember seeing St Paul and the Broken Bones open for the Alabama Shakes. And I remember seeing Sturgill “open” for Jason Isbell. And on and on and on. My experience with openers has been far more positive than negative.
September 23, 2018 @ 1:57 pm
I saw William Clark Green open up for Randy Rogers, and I saw Jade Bird open for Colter Wall.
I now listen to those openers far more than I do the headliners, and I’d never have heard of them otherwise.
September 25, 2018 @ 9:43 am
I love openers for Red Dirt bands and others that bring quality artist with them, but I have both gone to and not gone to shows because of the opener.
When it comes to mainstream country, I’d much rather not have an opener. Too many shows I’d otherwise be interested in come with 2 shitty pop country acts from the same label opening.
October 3, 2018 @ 7:16 am
I have to disagree- at least with Eric Church. I DO like seeing him on his own, and we saw him last year and loved his show – but I have also almost-always loved his openers and have been really excited to see them. Brandy Clark, Dwight Yoakam, Chris Stapleton. He’s had other openers that I haven’t had the chance to see with him (Ashley McBridge, Brothers Osborne) that I would have been thrilled to see. I can’t say that about openers for too many mainstream acts – theyre usually boring and don’t really interest me, but he’s always made pretty good choices.
September 24, 2018 @ 6:15 pm
Not having an opening act—I immediately think of Springsteen, and how his fans love him for it. We always thought of it as positive to us–we get more of him, as he would fill the time himself (or he & the E Street). And definitely different set lists for the nights he will play, as he knows a lot of fans see him more than one night, (the crazed-die-hards) even multiple nights. I think a lot of ‘Rock’ fans have been to so many concerts with the opening act, not to sound mean, but ‘forgettable’, or you wished they were, seriously. Even having an open mind, you couldn’t wait until they left the stage–I went one time with a few people, we were all upset, and one friend (normally a calm person) even screamed for them to get off the stage (I’ll admit that was the extreme). I never saw it this way–that in Country Music it takes the slot away from Artists trying to get noticed, trying to find their fan base. I see that point, and in ‘Country Music’ where it’s probably a ‘sure thing’ that the opener is talented.
Eric Church isn’t coming my way, the ‘neglect’ we feel here continues…………….. 🙂