Country superstar Jason Aldean announced on October 18 that he will perform at a few well-known, historic baseball stadiums as part of his 2013 North American Night Train tour in support of his latest album by the same name.
Aldean will perform at University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium on April 13, at Boston’s Fenway Park on July 13, and at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on July 20. According to Examiner.com, the three stadium stops are the only dates that have been released for next year’s tour.
The Night Train tour will take place in support of Aldean’s studio album “Night Train” that was released on October 16 through Broken Bow Records. Several of Aldean’s fellow country crooners will join him throughout his tour. Jake Owen and Thomas Rhett will open for Aldean at all three stops. Other opening acts scheduled include Luke Bryan for the University of Georgia stop, Miranda Lambert at Fenway Park, and Kelly Clarkson at Wrigley Field.
“I think this is a great move and a savvy one by a popular artist like Jason Aldean,” Will Flaherty, director of communications for SeatGeek, told TicketNews® regarding the singer’s upcoming tour. Flaherty pointed out that Aldean’s last tour with Bryan had average ticket prices of over $120 on the secondary market.
Tickets for Aldean’s July 13 concert at Fenway Park go on sale to the public beginning October 26. Tickets for the April 13 concert at the University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium go on sale beginning November 2. Tickets for the country singer’s July 20 concert at Wrigley Field will be available beginning November 3.
As a Georgia native and University of Georgia fan, Aldean feels,”probably the most excited I’ve ever been about any of my shows,” regarding the stop at the University’s Sanford Stadium. The singer announced the exciting news at what students thought was a pep-rally. The performance will be the first show of its kind at the stadium.
“I didn’t want to pick a handful of stadiums just to say we were going to play stadiums,” Aldean told music blog The Boot. “I wanted to play places that were special to me, and places that I really dug. Iconic ballparks like Fenway and Wrigley, I’d much rather play somewhere like that than somewhere that’s only been around for a year. I thought that was really cool.”
According to HuffingtonPost.com, Aldean has sold more than 1.9 million tickets on his “My Kinda Party” tour that concludes in Dallas on October 27. The singer has set selling records at more than 40 venues on his current tour. The stadium stops are the next logical step in the artist’s successful career. Aldean joins Taylor Swift and Kenny Chesney as country artists with the power to consistently pack stadiums.
Flaherty explained that over the past three years, Roger Waters, Paul McCartney, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, and Dave Matthews Band have all played shows at either Wrigley Field or Fenway Park with ticket prices that averaged over $150 on the secondary market. Fellow country artists Brad Paisley and Lambert also had a well-received concert at Wrigley Field in June 2012 that saw average ticket prices in the $145 range.
According to Flaherty, the advantages of playing at places like Wrigley and Fenway are numerous including far more seating than the standard concert or NBA arena. This translates to more ticket inventory to sell. The novelty of playing shows at these ballparks also boosts interest among fans. “I don’t see him struggling to sell out these two ballparks at all,” Flaherty told TicketNews® via email. Additionally, the shows are beneficial to the ballparks, because it allows them to host events and bring people to the stadium when baseball season has ended, or when the team is out for an away game.
Aldean recently caught the attention of tabloids when photos were leaked of the singer apparently kissing former American Idol contestant Brittany Kerr at a Los Angeles bar. Following the encounter, the married father of two apologized to fans via Twitter and recently called the situation a “learning experience.”
Luckily for the 35-year-old singer, the personal incident hasn’t appeared to hurt his career. Aldean is up for Entertainer of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards on November 1. His first single, “Take a Little Ride” from the album “Night Train,” became the highest-selling digital debut for a solo male country artist and the fastest moving single to reach No. 1 on the country charts this year.
On Aldean’s upcoming stadium stops and similar tours of its kind, Flaherty told TicketNews® that this is a trend that will continue to grow because of the novelty, large seating inventory, and the fact that the ballparks are always looking to host events once baseball season has ended.
