Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Songkick Launches First Social Concert Database

Fox Business

Songkick, a company dedicated to providing fans with a comprehensive live music resource online, today unveiled the first ever social concert database. The new site encourages the documentation of live music events by empowering users to create their own personal "gigographies" by flagging concerts they've attended and sharing their experiences with photos, videos, setlists and other concert ephemera, building on the growing trend of leveraging collective wisdom and sharing personal data online. Launching with one million concerts and complete tour histories for thousands of artists, the database provides any artist, concert, venue, and festival, a dedicated homepage for the online community to annotate.

"An amazing concert can change your life, and some concerts have been landmark cultural events," said Ian Hogarth, Songkick CEO and co-founder. "We wanted to give these events a place to live forever, so we've spent a year aggregating Songkick's database. We now provide an online home for the social documentation of these events, which we hope will serve as a testament to the history of live music."

The concerts in Songkick's database date as far back as Bob Dylan's performance at the home of Karen Wallace in May, 1960, to as forward as Michael Jackson's upcoming London tour dates in 2010. New and upcoming concerts are added daily through Songkick's web indexing technology, which automatically aggregates information from 29 global ticket vendors ranging from sites as large as Ticketmaster and Tickets.com to niche regional listings guides like The Village Voice. Fans are encouraged to add their own handpicked concerts to ensure no artist, venue or event is left out.

For examples of what some of the pages in Songkick's social concert database look like, please refer to the following links:


About Songkick

Launched October 2007 by co-founders Ian Hogarth, Michelle You and Pete Smith, Songkick is dedicated to providing the online live music resource for fans. Using web indexing technology, the company is building the world's most comprehensive directory of live music events, aggregating ticketing information from over 29 global ticket vendors such as Ticketmaster and Tickets.com. Songkick also powers concert listings on Qloud and Songbird. The company has received funding from Index Ventures, and a select group of angels including Saul Klein, (The Accelerator Group), Alex Zubillaga (former EVP of Digital Strategy and Business Development at Warner Music Group), Jeff Clavier (Softech VC), Dan Porter (co-founder of Ticketweb), Peter Read (Music Nation), Andrew Weissman and John Borthwick (Betaworks), Stefan Glaenzer (ex-Chairman Last.fm), Daniel Miller (founder of Mute Records), Mike Heneghan (former MD Mute Records), and Y Combinator. For more information please visit http://www.songkick.com.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Daytona International Speedway selling tickets on mobile phones

Daytona sells mobile tickets using ProVenueMobile technology Daytona International Speedway is proud to announce their latest innovation in customer service convenience. Now race fans have the ability to purchase select tickets for the Coke Zero 400 or the Subway Jalapeno 250 using their web-enabled mobile phones. This new service provides an easy-to-use and secure process for purchasing tickets for the fans. To purchase tickets on your web-enabled phone visit mobile.daytonainternationalspeedway.com.

Learn more about ProVenueMobile ticketing technology >

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Tickets.com's Doug Lyons Talks Strategy

Venues Today

LONG BEACH, CALIF. — The employees of Tickets.com don’t need 20 million reasons to spend a few bucks on a party. Last week, they found just one reason to throw a swanky soiree at the Grand Hyatt in Long Beach, Calif. — to celebrate the 20 million smackers they just spent to develop ProVenue.

About 90 people converged on Tickets.com’s Executive Summit Tuesday night. On display was the company’s new ProVenue portfolio, a new ticketing application designed to offer venues and box offices a fully customizable ticketing product.

Major League Baseball has yet to switch over to the new platform, although Tickets.com Business Development VP Steve Demots said he expected a handful of teams to be live by Opening Day 2010. Current users include the Hartman Arena in Wichita, Kan.; the Palladium in Hollywood, Calif., and the Seattle Theater Group. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics is also using ProVenue.

As for the future, the next possible market could be regional ticketing companies, said Doug Lyons, director of Sales and Engineering for Tickets.com. The former Paciolan executive (Demots is also from Paciolan) believes many ticketing companies are looking at new systems now that their Paciolan-powered programs are essentially operated by Ticketmaster. Venues Today sat down with Lyons to discuss ProVenues and how Tickets.com hopes to change the business.

Venues Today: What is the story of ProVenue?
Doug Lyons: In the past, there have been companies to compete with the Ticketmaster style. You buy the software, you put it on a server in your building and you sell tickets. The difference for ProVenue is that you get your own version of the software with your own database, but you also get full customization. You get to control all of the fees and can add-on services. Are you interested in stored value? We can recommend our partner Givex, or you can use your own. It’s all about creating a product that’s a good foundation with lots of functionality for the ticketing piece, and then be available to add our recommended services, or do it your own way.


VT: It sounds similar to the Paciolan-model. One of the problems they faced with their legacy software was that there were so many versions in existence that IT became very difficult. How do you avoid that?
DL: ProVenue is what other industries have been doing for the last five-to-10 years. They’ve been building these data centers that host technology and are designed to have shared resources, but still have control and are secure.

VT: You’ve also made some changes to the secondary model, creating a platform that allows the venues to determine how much control or participation they want to have over ticket resales. How are venues utilizing this technology?
DL: The Olympics is a good example. The 2010 Winter Olympics (in Vancouver, B.C.) wanted to offer people the ability to resell tickets through the Olympics website. They can control that and put rules around it, just like Flash Seats does with their product. We can also work with other secondary providers, like StubHub, that can share data. You can also share in the revenue, but that’s between you and StubHub.

VT: What’s your sales strategy?
DL: Right now, we’re not selling as much as we are getting input and feedback. We’re putting the finishes on the product. Major League Baseball was a big priority for us because they are our owners. We’ll put a bunch of teams on at the end of the season.

Learn more about ProVenue >

Friday, June 26, 2009

International Rugby in Charleston July 4

Independence Day brings international rugby to Charleston, when the USA Men’s National Team takes on staunch rivals Canada in a Rugby World Cup Qualifier match on July 4 at Blackbaud Stadium (kickoff 4 p.m. EST). For the first time in USA Rugby’s partnership with the ESPN networks, this cross-border clash will be broadcast LIVE in HD on ESPN.

The match in Charleston is the first of a two-legged North American Qualification Playoff between the USA and Canada, with the second match to be played on July 11 at Ellerslie Rugby Park in Edmonton.

“It is imperative for us to reach the Rugby World Cup,” said USA Eagles Head Coach Eddie O’Sullivan. “We have got to beat Canada on July 4 and 11 to go straight through, if not we will go into a repechage against Uruguay. That's the way they qualified last time around so that's the immediate short term goal, and if we qualify that will give us a two-year run-in to the next World Cup to become a more seasoned, experienced outfit.”

Both the USA and Canada enter the series following a grueling summer international schedule, with each squad facing off against Ireland and Wales before launching into the three-week Churchill Cup tournament.

Recently promoted to an 18th global ranking by the International Rugby Board (IRB), the USA Eagles head into the test rolling on the momentum of a commanding 31-13 victory over the Georgian National Team in the Churchill Cup Bowl (5th place) Finals on June 21. Canada hopes to recover from a disappointing 44-29 loss at the hands of Argentina Jaguars in the Churchill Cup Plate (3rd place) Final.

However, the ultimate victor of the USA-Canada series is anyone’s game. When the two teams last met in Chicago in June 2008, the USA dominated the first half of the match and sent the Canadians into the locker rooms held scoreless at the halftime. However, Canada turned the tables after the break and came thundering back to win it 26-10.

This time around, the USA hopes a healthy blend of youth and experience will do the trick. Its challenging schedule has led the Team USA to test out a new generation of players alongside its go-to veterans in order to find the best combinations building toward the RWC qualifiers.

“We are currently narrowing down our pool to the squad we want to compete in the qualifiers and we’ve allowed a lot of new players a chance to get some time on the field and show us what they can do,” said O’Sullivan.

“We have about two weeks before we play (Canada) in Charleston and with five games in three weeks it has taken its toll,” O’Sullivan added. “We need these next two weeks to recover and really turn all our focus to Canada.”

The winner of the North American Qualification series will claim the Americas 1 spot in Pool A of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and face the host nation, as well as France, Tonga and the top Asian qualifier.

The loser moves on to face Uruguay, the winner of the South American Qualification Playoff, in a two game series to determine the Americas 2 qualifying side, which will take its place in Pool C of the World Cup against the likes of Australia, Ireland, Italy and the Europe 2 qualifier.

A four-team Final Place Playoff will be held to decide the 20th qualifying team in the Rugby World Cup. This would include the third place Americas team versus the second place Asian team in a semifinal, with the winner playing the victor of the European 3 team against the African 2 team to claim the final spot in the RWC.

Buy tickets now to catch the USA vs. Canada live at Blackbaud Stadium via www.tickets.com.

For more information on the USA Men’s National Team and the Rugby World Cup Qualifiers, please visit www.usarugby.org.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Mobile Trends: iPhone Accounts for 43% of Mobile Internet Usage

AdMob's recent Mobile Metrics Report finds that Apple's iPhone now accounts for 43% of mobile Internet usage and traffic. Compared to sales, iPhone surpassed other models in the amount of mobile Web usage and HTML usage. Mobile-optimized sites and iPhone Apps have likely contributed to this rapid growth.

Learn more >

Monday, June 22, 2009

Tickets.com Client Spotlight: Paramount Theatre

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) presents Bob Weir & RatDog on Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 7:00pm at the Paramount Theatre.

Broadway World
BWW News Desk


Bob Weir already has a secure place in rock history as the Grateful Dead's co-vocalist and what Andrew Clarke (in one of England's leading newspapers, "The Independent") called the genre's "greatest, if most eccentric rhythm guitarist." When you have a modest, anti-promotional personality - and when you spend 30 years next to an icon - it's easy to fall under the radar.

There's a second reason he doesn't always get quite the attention he deserves. Although always a gentleman, Bob Weir can be...contrary. This is the man who, when his muse required that he go study music, chose McCoy Tyner - not exactly a rock rhythm guitarist - as his model. And just as his personality has a discriminating antiauthoritarian streak that leads him down his own road, his composing is just as distinctive and impossible to classify. So that in "Lazy Lightnin'" he combined r & b/disco chords and a time signature in 7. His go-your-own-way point of view is perfectly articulated in John Barlow's lyrics for "Throwin' Stones," which Weir called an "anarchist diatribe." And the dry, offbeat humor of so many of his songs lets you know - his is a nuanced, special voice. Bob Weir was born in San Francisco in 1947 and grew up in the suburb of Atherton. After less-than-popular-with-the-family-and-neighbors experiences with piano and trumpet, he glommed onto the guitar at the age of 13, and hasn't let go since. He soon became the most-junior member of a folk scene that centered on a Palo Alto, California, club called the Tangent, which hosted such future legends as Jerry Garcia, Jorma Kaukonen, and Janis Joplin. Kaukonen was his guitar-picking role model (Garcia, at that time, was a banjo player), and Weir soon became a full-fledged, if young, folkie, listening to Lightnin' Hopkins, Joan Baez, and the Greenbriar Boys, as well as the Everly Brothers and Chuck Berry.

By 1964, at the age of 17, he'd become a fixture at a Palo Alto music store called Dana Morgan's. That summer, when Jerry Garcia went off on a bluegrass odyssey, Weir assumed responsibility for his guitar students. In the wake of "A Hard Day's Night," rock and roll had swept away even the most purist folkies' doubts, so that when late that year Ron "Pigpen" McKernan urged Garcia to electrify their jug band instruments and become a rock band, Bob Weir - already a Beatlemaniac - evolved from jug to the rhythm guitar chair. They started as the Warlocks, played a lot of bars, and then in the fall of 1965 underwent a trial by fire, serving as the "house band" for a series of psychedelic explorations thrown by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, the "acid tests." By early 1966, the tests had grown into events involving many thousand people, and history was never quite the same. And the Warlocks had become not only unimaginably fused brothers, but also the Grateful Dead.

Weir was "the kid," and while his first Dead song, "The Other One," was not only brilliant and enduring - The Dead play it to this day - his early songwriting had its up and downs. His next song, "Born Crosseyed," was actually out of his vocal range, and for a while he gave up songwriting.

Finally, in 1970, he regained focus with a number of tunes. One was "Cassidy," about a young woman of that name whose birth he attended, combined with the same-sounding legendary hero of "On the Road" and the acid tests, Neal Cassady. With this and other songs, he began a songwriting partnership with John Perry Barlow, an old school friend, which would last 20 years and more. After adding legendary songs like "Truckin'" and "Sugar Magnolia" (written with Robert Hunter) to the 1970 Grateful Dead masterpiece "American Beauty," in 1971 Weir proposed to do his first solo album, which would be called "Ace." For various reasons, his backup band turned out to be, for the most part, the Dead. The album was a classic, and it's no surprise that five songs from it made it on to the "Weir Here" list, including "Playing in the Band," "Cassidy," and "Mexicali Blues."

In 1974, the Dead took a nearly two-year vacation (their only lengthy break in 30 years), and during that period Weir took up with a band called Kingfish, really his first side effort from the Dead. Weir took from Kingfish - aside from a massive amount of fun - the songs "Lazy Lightnin'" and "Supplication," and a huge dose of encouragement for the idea that, in order to be a creative contributor to the Dead, he needed to do things for himself.

As a result, the year after the "Kingfish" album was released (1976), he began a solo project with producer Keith Olsen that would come to be called "Heaven Help the Fool." A brief tour to support that album brought him in contact with various session players, including, eventually, Brent Mydland (who would join the Dead in 1979), Bobby Cochran, Alphonso Johnson, and Billy Cobham. This was the genesis for Bobby and the Midnites, who would tour in the early 1980s and produce two albums, including the eponymous debut album, here represented by "(I Want to) Fly Away."

Later in the '80s, Weir hooked up with the talented multi-genre bassist Rob Wasserman at a benefit, forging a partnership that would last 15 years. They began as a duo. Working on Rob's album "Trios," they joined forces with Neil Young to produce "Easy Answers," and then in the period after Jerry Garcia's death in 1995, added drummer Jay Lane and ex-Kingfish harmonica/guitar player Matthew Kelly to become a blues band called the Ratdog Review.

Eventually, Rob moved on, and a settled lineup featuring Lane, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti, lead guitarist Mark Karan, reeds man Kenny Brooks, and bassist Robin Sylvester was RatDog.

Tickets: $39.50, not including applicable fees. Tickets on available now at Tickets.com, in person at the Paramount or Moore Theatres box offices, 24-hour kiosks located outside The Paramount & Moore Theatres, charge by phone at 877-STG-4TIX, or online at STGPresents.org.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

First Concert at Nationals Park: Billy Joel and Elton John on July 11

Elton John and Billy Joel
Live in Concert at Nationals Park

July 11, 2009
Washington D.C.

At this inaugural concert at Nationals Park, Elton John and Billy Joel will open the evening together with a series of duets, playing twin pianos and trading vocals. Each artist will then perform a set with his own band. The grand finale reunites the two at center stage with their supporting musicians for a closing encore. Don't miss this incredible event!

Get Tickets >

Friday, June 19, 2009

Livekick Announces Official Launch of its Live Concerts Recommendation and Tickets Search Engine

From performances by your favorite chart-topping artists to free local concerts, Livekick helps you never miss a live concert again

Livekick, the live concerts recommendation and tickets search engine, announced today the official launch of its platform at http://livekick.com. The site, which is free to use, helps music fans easily discover local live concerts based on artists they like and find the best and cheapest available tickets online. The Livekick search engine includes more than 75,000 concerts in the U.S., more than 20,000 artists performing, close to 40,000 venues, and near real-time updated ticket pricing information from the most popular concert tickets web sites.

Anyone can easily create a free account at http://livekick.com and add their favorite artists in seconds by pointing Livekick to anywhere they engage with music, online or on their computers. You can import artists from your iTunes library, computer music library, MySpace Music, Last.fm, Pandora, iLike, blip.fm or Rhapsody accounts. You can also add artists by name or by selecting artists Livekick suggests. Livekick creates a musical profile based on your favorite artists and automatically imports new artists from your music services as you listen to new music online.

Based on your musical profile, and where you live or travel to, Livekick makes sure that you are always updated about artists' tours that are relevant to you, and about special promos, tickets presales and more. Livekick automatically sends you newly announced concert recommendations via email, Twitter or personalized RSS feeds and you can also check your concert recommendations on http://livekick.com.

Once you find a concert to go to, Livekick makes it easy for you to find and to buy the best available tickets online. The Livekick tickets search engine continuously scans the most popular direct and reseller ticket web sites, including TicketMaster, LiveNation, StubHub, Tickets.com, TicketWeb, TicketCity, TicketsNow, eBay, and MySpace Music, to find the cheapest currently available tickets.

"We developed Livekick to help music fans never miss a live concert again," said Aviv Eyal, co-founder of Livekick. "Our live concert recommendation alerts ensure you're among the first to know when an artist you like is performing near you, and our tickets search engine provides you with the most affordable ticket options available via all of the major ticketing sites. Livekick is a valuable one-stop destination for music fans and anyone who's looking to make the most of their entertainment dollars."

For music enthusiasts, Livekick has additional features that make it the ultimate one-stop destination for live concert information. Your Concerts provides a personalized concert calendar with your favorite artists' performances, which you can easily export to your Outlook or iCal calendars; Your Artists tracks your favorite artists with complete tour listings, user-generated videos from their live concerts, links to artists' web sites, and more; the Livekick Desktop Widget, downloadable to a PC or a Mac, automatically scans your computer daily for new music files and adds new artists you listen to on your computer to your Livekick account; and social network sharing enables you to share concerts with friends via Facebook and MySpace.

Web site developers can use the free Livekick API, available at http://livekick.com/api/ to add rich, local and up-to-date concerts and tour information to their web applications. Utilizing the API, CBS Radio Online provides radio listeners with a link to Livekick to find out about live concerts by artists they hear on the radio, and to find the cheapest tickets available online.

Livekick was founded by Aviv Eyal and Yarden Tadmor in May 2008 and soft-launched in beta in Fall 2008. Livekick was recognized by AlwaysOn as an OnHollywood 100 winner in 2009.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Superb stallions to perform in Surrey

Surrey North Delta Leader
By Black Press


A spectacle seen all over the world is coming to Surrey.

The “World Famous” Lipizzaner Stallions will perform at the Cloverdale Agriplex on June 24.

It's the Lipizzaner Stallions' 39th anniversary presentation of the Dancing White Stallions.

Over the years, more than 25 million people throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia and Hawaii have seen this internationally acclaimed equine demonstration.

The Lipizzaner Stallion has galloped out of the pages of over 400 years of history, and is now preserved as an equestrian work of art, an equine ballet not to be rivalled. Harkening back to a time when the horse was a symbol of grace and majesty, the family show also includes a segment called "Airs Above the Ground" which shows the leaps and manoeuvres once used by riders to protect themselves in the battlefield.

The conclusion of the performance is the traditional Grand Quadrille, featuring six to eight stallions with their riders performing an intricate, equine ballet, exhibiting moves through the highest level of dressage.

Regular admission adult tickets are $22.50 each. Discounts are available for children 12 and under and seniors 60 and over.

Tickets are available at Stampede Tack and Western Wear, online at www.tickets.com or charge by phone at 1-800-882-8258.

The agriplex is located at 17763 62 Ave. The show begins at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Hilary Duff To Attend Kentucky Speedway Event

By Tim Saunders

Hilary Duff will be at the Kentucky Speedway at Sparta later this month to support the Blessings in a Backpack program.

The singer will serve as the grand marshal of the NASCAR nationwide series “Meijer 300 Presented by Ritz” and encourage people to donate to the Blessings in a Backpack program, which every week distributes backpacks filled with enough non-perishable food for the weekend (six meals) to “at-risk” students.

Duff and 24 students from Gallatin County Schools will participate in activities at the Speedway, including a pit-road bike relay race. She will also drop the flag for the NASCAR race to begin. People will also be able to donate old and new backpacks to the program.

Race tickets, infield camping and Big Ticket Deals can be reserved online at www.kentuckyspeedway.com, by phone at 888-652-RACE (7223), through the Kentucky Speedway ticket offices in Fort Mitchell, at 400 Buttermilk Pike, Suite 100, or the track Fan Center located off of Interstate 71, Exit 57 and Ky. Hwy. 35 N in Sparta. Tickets also are available through Tickets.com outlets including Meijer stores.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Tickets.com Client Spotlight: Paramount Theatre

Maxwell To Perform At The Paramount On June 23

The Seattle Medium

Live Nation welcomes R&B artist Maxwell to the Paramount Theatre on Tuesday, June 23 at 8:00 p.m.

BLACKsummers'night, the heavily-anticipated new studio album from the groundbreaking modern soul artist Maxwell due for release on Tues., July 7, is the first full-length Maxwell release since Now, his critically-acclaimed third studio album, debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 in August 2001.

BLACKsummers'night is the sensuous opening installment of the artist's monumental BLACKSUMMERS'NIGHT trilogy. The trilogy's subsequent chapters, blackSUMMERS'night and blacksummers'NIGHT, are slated for release in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

BLACKsummers'night reunites Maxwell with long-time collaborator Hod David, who serves as co-producer and co-writer of the album. Striving for an emotional authenticity and real world sound for the album, Maxwell and Hod recorded the entire album live in the studio with an a-list ensemble of elegantly sympathetic musicians.

Maxwell began redefining classic soul music for a new generation with the release of his critically-acclaimed debut album, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite, in April 1996. Fueled in part by the RIAA gold single, ''Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder),'' the Grammy-nominated Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite was certified platinum in March 1997, less than a year after its release, and achieved double platinum status, in recognition of sales of more than 2 million copies in the US alone, in 2002. Maxwell followed up with his MTV Unplugged EP, released in July 1997 and certified gold in September 1999. His second full-length album, Embrya, was released in June 1998 and certified platinum in May 1999. Another Maxwell single, the hit ''Fortunate,'' was certified gold in June 1999. To date, Maxwell has achieved 10 gold and platinum certifications from the RIAA for his albums and singles.

Tickets are on sale at Tickets.com, Tickets.com 24-hour kiosks at the Paramount and Moore Theatres, or charge by phone (877) STG-4TIX. All tickets subject to applicable service charges and fees.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Tickets.com Client Spotlight: UNC School of the Arts

Something for Everyone: Comedy, clowns, music and variety included in series by School of the Arts

Winston-Salem Journal
By Ken Keuffel


The next Something for Everyone comes pretty close to living up to its name.

The series, presented by the UNC School of the Arts in the Stevens Center, will begin Sept. 19 with a comedy called Mama's Night Out and end May 22 with Mary Wilson of the Supremes. The other attractions will include a return visit by Gaelic Storm (Oct. 9); "Stay Tuned," a variety show (Nov. 13); "The Lettermen Christmas Show" (Dec. 19) and Jim Lauderdale, a Grammy award-winning bluegrass artist (Jan. 9). Aga-Boom will perform March 4, showcasing clowning rooted "in the unique European theatrical style."

As for musicals, Hairspray will be presented Feb. 26 and 27. And the funny Church Basement Ladies will arrive April 1, celebrating a church-basement kitchen and the women working in it.

"You are looking for variety and you're looking to please a wide, diverse audience," said Joy Perry, Something's programming and marketing director. "It's difficult oftentimes to narrow down exactly what it is you're going to book."

But several guidelines became apparent as she began piecing together the "puzzle" about 18 months ago. The guidelines were gleaned from audience surveys and artist showcases at booking conferences.

Moreover, an economically challenging environment suggested the need for an affordable "escape" in the form of "a lot of comedy and a lot of nostalgia artists," she said.

Single-ticket prices will range from $21 to $53, up from the ticket prices for this season's series ($16 to $41). But take Hairspray out of the mix, and the highest single-ticket price is $42 for Mary Wilson.

"I don't think we've ever had a ticket price quite that high," Perry said of Hairspray ($53). "But our other shows are right in line with previous shows' ticket prices."

Perry said that Hairspray has generated a lot of interest. In the musical, which is set in the 1960s, Tracy Turnblad aims to vanquish the reigning princess of a televised dance show, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate the show -- all without denting her 'do.

Hairspray will be presented three times over two days.

"The question is: Can you sell three shows?" Perry said. "A lot of times I only do one night (for a series attraction) because that's all I feel I can sell. It's a gamble; there's no guarantee that you're going to sell anything."

Perry said that there are "a lot" of things she'd like to bring in -- but can't, because of audience tastes.

"We do live in the Bible belt," she said. "We do live in a section of the country where you can offend pretty easily if you're not careful…. To be perfectly honest, I want to get butts in seats. I want to bring in things the community wants to see. If they want to see conservative, then that's what I'm going to book."

It's worth noting, too, that Perry will rely on ticket sales to fund 80 percent of Something's $300,000 budget for next season. The rest of the money will come from student fees and from ticket proceeds from this season's series. The proceeds no longer fund UNCSA scholarships.

"It's pretty high-pressure," Perry said. "I'm expected to sell tickets."

One show out of the Something norm will be Aga-Boom. Press materials describe clowns cutting "through the barriers of language and culture with the art of slapstick, the humor of physical comedy and the delighted excitement of childhood."

Perry said that Aga-Boom satisfies her desire for at least one series show that is for all ages. In addition: "We've never done a show with European, avant-garde style of clowning," she said. "It's sort of old school, almost mime-type clowning. It's just so different, fun and unique."

Something has become both a nice community service for patrons who want fare beyond UNCSA's usual programming and a way for current UNCSA students to gain experience working behind the scenes as stagehands.

And often, a show in the series will feature a UNCSA alumnus, either on stage or behind it. In January, for example, Jim Lauderdale will perform bluegrass, having received a bachelor's degree in acting in 1979. His Bluegrass Diaries won a 2008 Grammy award for the best bluegrass album of the year.

"It's nice to be able to complete the circle," Perry said.

How To Get Tickets:

Tickets for the next Something for Everyone series are now on sale.

All shows will be at the Stevens Center, 405 W. Fourth St., and each will begin at 7:30 p.m., unless otherwise noted.

Single-ticket prices, ranging from $21 to $53, differ from show to show. Discounts are available for groups of 20 or more.

Season tickets are $235 (orchestra) and $208 (balcony).

A dinner buffet will be served on the 10th floor of the Stevens Center from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. before each evening show. The cost of each dinner is $23.

To order tickets, go to www.tickets.com or call the center box office at 721-1945.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Miley Cyrus's Tulsa concert using paperless tickets

Scalping: System seeks to prevent it

BY BRANDY McDONNELL
NewsOK


TULSA — Tickets go on sale Saturday for Miley Cyrus’ October show at the BOK Center, but parents and fans shouldn’t line up at the box office for them.

Cyrus, the 16-year-old star of the hit Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana” and its big-screen spinoff, "Hannah Montana: The Movie,” will play at 7 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Tulsa arena, 200 S Denver. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Pop band Metro Station will be the supporting act.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday at www.bokcenter.com and www.tickets.com and by phone at (866) 726-5287. Tickets are priced at $82.25, $62.25 and $42.25.

In an effort to prevent scalping, the show is a "paperless” event, so tickets won’t be available at the box office or usual brick-and-mortar outlets, according to the BOK Center.

Since all tickets will be sold through paperless ticket delivery, fans won’t get a physical ticket to enter, according to a news release from the venue.

On the day of show, concertgoers must bring the credit card they used to buy the tickets and a government-issued photo ID. All members of the ticket buyer’s party must be present at the same time to enter the venue. An usher will swipe the credit card and present each person in the group with seat locator slips to get into the show.

On her 2007-08 "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Tour,” tickets sold out in mere moments. Most were snapped up by ticket brokers planning to resell the seats to desperate parents for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Oklahoma City’s Ford Center was among the sell-out shows.

That tour, which was turned into a hit concert film, won the 2008 Billboard Touring Award for Breakthrough Act, according to the release.

Along with her TV and growing film career, Cyrus is a multiplatinum-selling singer and the youngest recording artist to notch four No. 1 albums in less than three years.

Industrial Band KMFDM Comes To The Moore Theater 10/12

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) presents KMFDM on Monday, October 12, 2009 at 7:30pm at the Moore Theatre.

Broadway World

Spawned in Germany during 1984, KMFDM pioneered the crossover between techno/dance and heavy metal with their signature industrial sound. Moving to Chicago in the mid-80' s KMFDM was the pride of Wax Trax Records during the label's peak. Rapidly evolving year by year through intense experimentation and touring; the band has redefined themselves with each new release.

Spawned in Germany during 1984, KMFDM pioneered the crossover between techno/dance and heavy metal with their signature industrial sound. Moving to Chicago in the mid-80's KMFDM was the pride of WaxTrax! Records during the label's peak. Rapidly evolving year by year through intense experimentation and touring; the band redefined themselves with each new release.

Venturing on to dabble in side projects and then re-establish KMFDM in Seattle during 1999, Sascha's revolving band of misfits have stood the test of time. To quote themselves, "The future belongs to those of us still willing to get our hands dirty". Living by their D.I.Y. philosophy, KMFDM launched their own online store, KMFDM Store and record label, (KMFDM Records).

Helmed by the dual vocal attack of the band's founder Sascha and siren Lucia KMFDM celebrated 20 years of musical excellence by performing 62 shows in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia in 2004. In 2005 they embarked on a World Tour of 18 countries in support of their full length CD Hau Ruck. 2006 saw the release of a new remix EP titled Ruck Zuck and the Hau Ruck Zuck USSA Tour. 2007 brought Tohuvabohu, featuring a grand mixture of the band's many styles. In 2008 the band, now relocated to hometown Hamburg, Germany released their first full blown remix album ever, Brimborium.

Celebrating their 24th Anniversary on February 29th, KMFDM announced KMFDM 24/7, a series of twenty four seven inch vinyl singles featuring tracks from the band's original 12" singles and classic album cuts. The singles will be released on the first of every month in the order they were originally released for 24 months culminating on Feb 01, 2010 with a brand new exclusive single. Each of the 24 singles is available in a Limited Edition First and Only Pressing of 250 copies. All tracks have been remastered specifically for vinyl and the covers for all the singles will feature original classic KMFDM artwork, most by famed KMFDM cohort Brute!. All KMFDM 24/7 releases are exclusive to the KMFDM Store.

KMFDM remain a musical entity to be reckoned with. Through relentless musical exploration and reinvention they have continued to top themselves. KMFDM's new 2009 album, Blitz, is no exception. Featuring an electro cover of The Human League's "Being Boiled", the Russian language "Davai", the German sung "Potz-Blitz!" and the disco-amped "Strut".

In addition to Blitz KMFDM presents - SKOLD vs. KMFDM, the new 22 track album by Tim Skold and Sascha Konietzko. The juggernauts of the alt-underground come together again to tear it apart. SKOLD vs. KMFDM is available from KMFDM Records exclusively through the KMFDM Store in fan-friendly CD, audiophile Vinyl and high quality MP3 formats.

As further evidence that their 25th year, 2009, will be one to remember, the band are set to take Europe by storm, hitting a number of festival and headlining dates across ten countries in the Spring and Summer. Later this year they will make their way back to the US and Canada for more stops on the Kein Mitleid Tour 2009.

In addition to their new material KMFDM has re-released their entire back catalog from the band's WaxTrax! Records era as KMFDM Classics via Metropolis Records/KMFDM Records. All KMFDM Classics are remastered with deluxe booklets and some contain extra tracks. Their ten classic albums, What Do You Know, Deutschland?, Don't Blow Your Top, UAIOE, Naive, Money, Angst, Nihil, Xtort, Symbols and Adios are available now.

To accompany the KMFDM Classics, KMFDM has released Extra, a three volume set of double disc collections of all KMFDM tracks not included on the ten KMFDM Classic albums. It features remastered tracks from the band's 12" singles and CD singles. All of the material on Extra has been out of print for many years. Extra Vol. 1, Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 are out now on Metropolis Records/KMFDM Records.

The classic KMFDM side project Excessive Force has had their entire catalog re-released with the same treatment given to the KMFDM Classics by Metropolis Records/KMFDM Records. Both Conquer Your World and Gentle Death are out now.

As can plainly be seen, the self-proclaimed fathers of industrial-rock show no signs of stopping.

Tickets: $27.00 not including applicable fees. Tickets went on sale Friday, June 5 at Tickets.com, in person at the Paramount Theatre box offices, 24-hour kiosks located outside The Paramount & Moore Theatres, charge by phone at 877-STG-4TIX, and online at STGPresents.org.

Seattle Theatre Group is the 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization that operates the historic Paramount and Moore Theatres in Seattle, Washington. Our mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of our region's cultural identity while keeping these two landmark venues alive and vibrant. STG presents a range of performances from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and jazz to comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows - at both historic theatres in Seattle and venues throughout the Puget Sound and Portland, Oregon.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Tickets.com Client Spotlight: GMU Center for the Arts

GMU Summer Concert Series

Entertainment
By Staff
Fairfax County Times


The 2009 Mason Summer Festival, organized by George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, kicked off May 31 and continues through June 27 at GMU’s Fairfax campus. This monthlong festival celebrates artists and arts organizations from the university community and around the Northern Virginia region.

It is a collaboration between the university, the City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts, the Virginia Commission on the Arts and the Arts Council of Fairfax County.

Ticket prices vary but have been reduced from last year to make it more affordable for families to attend events together.

To buy tickets, call 888-945-2468 or visit www.tickets.com. In person, visit the Center for the Arts ticket office. For more information about programming, call 703-993-2787 or visit www.gmu.edu/cfa or www.masonfestival.org.

Festival highlights:

May 31 – American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra season finale concert at the Center for the Arts Concert Hall. Under the direction of American Youth Philharmonic conductor Luis Haza and American Youth Symphonic Orchestra conductor Carl J. Bianchi, and featuring trumpeter Thomas Cupples. Program includes Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major, Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” Berlioz’s “Roman Carnival Overture” and Respighi’s “Pini di Roma” (“The Pines of Rome”).

June 6 – GMU pep band leader Michael Nickens – known to Mason basketball fans as “Doc Nix" -- teams up with Matt Nolan of Mason’s new Game Design program to provide improvisational music and Wii technology.

June 7 – French classical guitarist Roland Dyens.

June 13 – Theater of the First Amendment, Mason’s professional theater company, returns with an expanded First Light Discovery Program of new play development, featuring staged readings of emerging work by playwrights Sherry Kramer and Jennifer L. Nelson, and a new screenplay by Wendy L. Anderson.

June 13 – Japan Fair, with performances and demonstrations of arts and cultural practices by 70 students from Japan.

June 14 -- McLean Symphony performs “Sounds and Sights of America,” featuring selections from Aaron Copland’s “Rodeo,” Duke Ellington’s “Harlem,” Thomas Jefferson’s “Testament of Freedom” (set to music by Randall Thompson) and Mark Twain’s “Tom Sawyer’s Saturday” (set to music by John Dankworth).

June 20-21 -- Rick Davis and Jose Caceres direct “Exploring Zarzuela,” a form of Spanish musical theater/light opera, featuring soaring melodies, clicking castanets, dance, romance, comical situations and English dialogue.

June 21 -- Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra presents an evening of West Coast and East Coast jazz at the Center for the Arts Concert Hall. Programs includes the music of Stan Kenton, Gordon Goodwin, Alan Baylock, Gerry Mulligan, Benny Goodman and more.

Visual arts, ongoing – Throughout the festival, works from local artists Kristin Herzog (realistic and abstract works in various media) and Mark Isaacs (colorful landscapes and seascapes) will be on display in the Center for the Arts Concert Hall lobby. Works by Mason faculty and graduate students will be on display in the Mason Hall Alumni Atrium Gallery and the Performing Arts Building.

Music and theater, ongoing – A variety of music and theater arts groups will offer training throughout the festival. Potomac Arts Academy will offer training to young artists in guitar, jazz, strings and more. A Class Act: Acting for Young People offers theater. Mason dance department hosts a two-day dance intensive for area high school students. Theater of the First Amendment offers its First Light student playwriting competition and mentorship program, with development and readings of student work presented by professional actors and directors. Theater of the First Amendment also teams up with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and Acting for Young People to present the Generations Playwriting Project, which offers opportunities for students and senior citizens to collaborate in playwriting. These readings, with audience feedback, are offered on Saturdays in June.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Tickets.com Client Spotlight: SUN Sports & Entertainment, Inc.

SUN Brings MMA Back to Dallas on July 12, 2009

EarthTimes

DALLAS, TX -- SUN Sports & Entertainment, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: SUNR) today announced the start of its 2009 Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) series in Dallas, TX and has commenced pre-selling tickets to Corporate Sponsors and VIPs for its July 12, 2009 Event. Tickets to the general public go on sale June 12, 2009 at (www.tickets.com).

This is one of the first major MMA Events to be held in the Dallas Fort Worth area since Dallas Mavericks Owner and HDNet Chairman Mark Cuban produced his HDNet Fights in December of 2007. The MMA market is growing and the demand is a driving force behind a regular monthly MMA series which SUN intends to produce.

The MMA series will be held at the newly renovated Mesquite Resistol Arena (www.mesquiterodeo.com) in Mesquite, Texas which was recently acquired by Camelot Sports & Entertainment from Southwest Sports Group (owners of The Dallas Stars and The Texas Rangers). The venue, which hosts seating for over 6,000 people, also includes standard Sky Boxes and custom Sky Boxes for up to 80 people. The entire facility is air conditioned with complete wine/beer service and food offered by Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse.

Tickets start at $20 for General Admission, $50 for Floor Seats and $100 for VIP Cage Side seats. There are also a limited number of Sky Boxes available for groups of 10 people for $1,250 which includes: In-Suite Buffet, Beer/Wine, and VIP pre-fight and post-fight party access. Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities are also available as well as In-Arena Booths and Program Advertising. There will also be a new line of apparel unveiled and sold exclusively at the Event.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Ticketing Industry News: NBA and NHL Teams Sign With SplitSeasonTickets

Six More Teams will Utilize Season Ticketholder Share-Partner Software

The New York Knicks and Rangers, the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators are all launching SplitSeasonTickets services for their upcoming season sale and renewal campaigns. Each team will provide their fans free web-based access to both the SplitSeasonTickets Matcher and Drafting services.

SplitSeasonTickets, LLC, working in conjunction with FutureTix, Inc., a ticketing industry consulting firm, has recently signed with these teams to make this robust social-networking web-based tool available to their current and potential season ticket holders. The SplitSeasonTickets services aid clubs with season ticketholder retention and promote new season ticket sales at no cost to the end-users.

“For years, season ticketholders have shared seats with other fans while the team would know very little, if anything about these share-partners,” said Dan DeMato, President of FutureTix.“SplitSeasonTickets functionality fills that void by helping season ticketholders replace lost share-partners and distribute their game tickets efficiently, while providing sports organizations a wealth of data about these partners, all resulting in a greater renewal retention rate.”

In addition to the customer-facing services, SplitSeasonTickets' reporting tools give teams direct and real-time access to rich partner-sharing data providing instant access to the identities of share-partners as well as the specific preferences of teams’ season ticketholders.

“SplitSeasonTickets is focused on making it easier to share season tickets. We look forward to helping these prestigious teams change the way they interact with season ticketholders and share partners.” said Dan Bartlett, Founder and CEO of SplitSeasonTickets.

These teams join current SplitSeasonTickets users that include amongst others, the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Kings, and Charlotte Bobcats.

For the past several years the San Francisco Giants have been in the forefront with SplitSeasonTickets technology. “In the current economic climate we need to do all we can to help season ticketholders find partners and solidify their renewals. SplitSeasonTickets helps us do that in an easy and effective way,”said Russ Stanley, Managing Vice President, Ticket Services/Client Relations for the San Francisco Giants.

About SplitSeasonTickets, L.L.C. – SplitSeasonTickets, LLC provides services that benefit fans who share season tickets. These services let professional sports/entertainment organizations become active participants in sharing tickets. We are a privately held company with offices in California and New York.

About FutureTix, Inc. - FutureTix, Inc. is a full-service ticketing solutions and development consulting company that specializes in driving incremental revenue through innovative ticketing technology. We are a privately held New York company.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Vancouver 2010 Olympics ticket sales soar

Sports Features Communications
LAURA WALDEN


TAMPA, Jun. 07: Vancouver Olympic organizers report stellar ticket sales for the second allotment that was made available on Saturday. The men’s gold medal hockey final was the first to sell out with the 1,000 tickets getting snatched up in mere minutes.

Opening Ceremony tickets, speed skating and figure skating were next in line among the first tickets flying out the doors for events. Preliminary Ice hockey, curling and the victory ceremonies tickets are still available.

Canadians submitted orders from every province and territory in record numbers, with more than 22,000 requests for 130,000 tickets processed in the first four hours.

"We anticipated demand would be high for tickets, and the level of interest we saw today was very exciting and, once again, a testament to the pride and support Canadians continue to show in being part of Canada's Games in 2010," said Caley Denton, VANOC vice president, ticketing and consumer marketing.

"Thanks to the incredible work by our partner tickets.com, our system performed as planned on the technical side. After 10 am Saturday, our www.vancouver2010.com website experienced traffic of more than 1,300 hits per second and by noon had set a record for page views at more than 5 million."

Denton added, "The virtual waiting room system worked well and helped manage traffic demand on our site effectively while keeping the process fair for consumers."

Fans looking to purchase tickets for the Paralympics Winter Games will be able to buy online at www.vancouver2010.com in the coming days as they are temporarily unavailable at the moment.

According to an update late January this year organizers project ticket sales at $260M for all the events.

Warnings have been made public about purchasing through unofficial channels. The only official sources for Canadians to buy Olympic tickets are www.vancouver2010.com and through official 2010 Winter Games hospitality partners Jet Set Sports and CoSport.

Vancouver organizers will also launch a third, smaller phase of ticket sales this fall.

Miley Cyrus Headed To Tulsa

KTUL.com

Tulsa, OK - Miley Cyrus announced her 2009 North American Tour, which includes a stop in Tulsa.

The 45-show tour, featuring special guest Metro Station, launches September 14, 2009 in Portland, OR and will play in several major cities including Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas, Chicago, New Orleans and more before wrapping in Miami on December 2nd.

Cyrus will play the BOK Center on October 12, 2009 at 7 p.m.

Tickets go on sale June 13, 2009 at 10 a.m. Prices will range from $42 to $82 and are available at www.bokcenter.com, www.tickets.com, or by calling 1-866-7-BOKCTR.

American Express® Cardmembers will have the exclusive opportunity to purchase advance tickets for Miley Cyrus’ upcoming North American Tour prior to public sale. Tickets will be available for purchase with an American Express Card through www.tickets.com/mileycyrus_bokcenter from 10:00 AM Wednesday, June 10th through 10:00 PM Friday, June 12th.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Over 150,000 tickets to Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games up for sale June 6

Canadians can still purchase tickets to all events, including gold medal ice hockey, curling and ceremonies

VANCOUVER, May 29 /CNW/ - Canadians hoping to land dream tickets to an Olympic ice hockey showdown or the emotional spectacle of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will have another opportunity to secure tickets starting at 10:00 am (Pacific Time) Saturday, June 6 when the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) releases more than 150,000 tickets for sale to the public at www.vancouver2010.com.

Tickets for every sporting event, as well as the Opening, Closing and nightly Victory Ceremonies at the 2010 Winter Games will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

"This is a major release of tickets before the 2010 Winter Games, and is the best remaining opportunity for Canadian Olympic fans to get their hands on tickets," said Caley Denton, vice president, ticketing and consumer marketing for VANOC. "We want to make sure everyone's ready on Saturday morning, so take a minute to register a ticketing account if you don't already have one and have a look at the schedules ahead of time. Whether you're an ice hockey or a biathlon fan, or love the drama and colour of the ceremonies, tickets to every event will be available. We've worked hard to make as many tickets available as possible, and based on the enthusiasm shown by Canadians we anticipate demand will be high."

In addition to the more than 150,000 competition and Opening and Closing Ceremonies tickets, this marks the first time thousands of Victory Ceremony tickets will be available as single tickets for $22. Previously they could only be purchased through the bundled Olympic Experience Packages available in the first round of sales. The nightly ceremonies at BC Place in downtown Vancouver will pay tribute to the medal-winning athletes as the International Olympic Committee recognizes the day's accomplishments. Following the medal presentations, the athletes' triumphs will be honoured with a celebration concert featuring renowned entertainers.

On June 6, ticket customers visiting www.vancouver2010.com will be directed to a virtual waiting room, where they will be randomly selected to enter the Vancouver 2010 ticketing website. Once signed into their account, customers will be able to purchase up to four separate events, with a limit of four tickets per event. If a customer wants to order more than the limit of six events, they will need to start a new transaction.

Helpful tips:
-------------


- To save time, previously registered customers are advised to sign
into their ticketing account at www.vancouver2010.com before June 6
to ensure their username and password are up-to-date and functional.
- New customers without an existing account can save time by pre-
registering an account before June 6.

- The Competition Schedule, including the draws for the ice hockey
tournaments for the Games and ticket prices, is posted on
www.vancouver2010.com to make it easier for customers to plan their
ticket-buying strategy ahead of time.

- VANOC reminds customers that Visa is the only payment card accepted.
- Customers will also have the option to select an offline payment
and mail in a cheque.

- Entry to the system is random - refreshing the web page will not
reduce your wait time.

- Plan ahead for purchases and ensure you have sufficient credit
available in your account as purchases will be charged immediately.

- Be wary of tickets offered for sale through unofficial channels. The
only official sources for Canadians for tickets to the Vancouver 2010
Olympic Winter Games are www.vancouver2010.com (in partnership with VANOC's official ticketing services supplier Tickets.com) and
official 2010 Winter Games hospitality partners Jet Set Sports and
CoSport.
- Be vigilant about individuals or companies offering "guaranteed"
tickets for sale. For most people, even a "money-back" guarantee
is little consolation for the disappointment, inconvenience and
embarrassment they will experience if they discover at the gate
that their ticket is invalid.

- Customers may also purchase tickets by phone at 1.800.TICKETS
(1.800.842.5387), and a TDD/TTY service is available for persons who
are deaf or hard of hearing at 604.629.7140.

Background

Beginning on October 3, 2008 the Canadian public was invited to submit requests for tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Within a month, Canadian residents had submitted requests for more than $345 million in tickets. This overwhelming response was 4.5 times greater than the first phase of ticketing sales for the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games ($75 million over nine weeks), the most recent Olympic Games held in North America. As a result, approximately 120 of 170 ticketed sessions for the 2010 Winter Games were allocated by lottery.

On December 12, 2008, remaining tickets from this first phase allotment were re-released for sale exclusively to ticket buyers who had participated in the initial ticket-request period; the remaining inventory was sold that day.

Earlier this month, VANOC opened the sale of tickets to the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. Strong demand saw all available inventory to the gold medal ice sledge hockey game sold on the first day. Paralympic Games tickets will be available until June 5, but will be temporarily unavailable for purchase during Phase 2 of Olympic Games ticket sales.

About VANOC

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010. Visit www.vancouver2010.com.

For further information: Media Contact: Jason Macnaughton, Vancouver
2010, (604) 403-2734, jason_macnaughton@vancouver2010.com.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Tickets.com Client Spotlight: Salinas Sports Complex

O'Neal to open for Creedence Clearwater Revisited in Salinas July 18

The California Rodeo and David Drew Productions announced that country singer Jamie O'Neal will open for the Creedence Clearwater Revisited concert on July 18 at Municipal Stadium in Salinas.

O’Neal launched her career with back-to-back number-one hits: "There Is No Arizona" and "When I Think about Angels.” She followed with hits like “Shiver,” "Trying to Find Atlantis” and a tribute to moms, "Somebody's Hero.” Along the way, she has earned four Grammy nominations and a host of other awards. KTOM 92.7 FM is presenting Jamie O’Neal; listen or go online in the weeks before the event for your chance to win tickets.

The concert will follow the Saturday performance of the 99th California Rodeo Salinas. Gates will open at 6:30 p.m. with music beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets prices are $35 for general admission and $55 for VIP seats (plus applicable fees). Tickets may be purchased at the Salinas Sports Complex Box Office or on-line at Tickets.com.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

98.5 gets ready to "Kiss the Summer Hello"

Examiner.com

For many years, Buffalo Top-40 radio station WKSE - better known as Kiss 98.5 - has been known for their concert "festivals" - "Kiss the Summer Hello" and "Kiss the Summer Goodbye" at the long-gone Pier, and most recently and notably, "Kissmas Bash" at the HSBC Arena. They've now brought back "Kiss the Summer Hello," on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009 at Coca-Cola Field (formerly Dunn Tire Park) in Downtown Buffalo.

The cast of characters for the 2009 edition is a great sampling of the music that Kiss is known for: 2007 "American Idol" finalist Elliott Yamin; the Chicago pop sounds of the White Tie Affair; the up-and-coming Brit-pop of the Ting Tings; the Austrailian dance-pop of sister act the Veronicas; the funk-metal stadium pop of Kevin Rudolf; and electonica from Colorado with 3OH!3.

Tickets for "Kiss the Summer Hello" are on sale at tickets.com and all Tops locations. Seats in the stands are $20, and field seats are $35. For more information, go to kiss985.com.

Tickets.com Client Spotlight: Seattle Theatre Group

STG Presents THE SCRIPT With Special Guest Parachute 7/30 At The Crocodile

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) presents The Script with special guest, Parachute, on Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 9:00pm at the Crocodile.

The Script, the biggest breaking new band of 2008 in UK and their native Ireland, are celebrating the success of their debut self-titled album by heading out on their first national U.S. tour this summer. Having just wrapped up a sold-out run as main support for Grammy Award winning artist Adele, The Script will officially return to the road as headliners on July 30th at the Crocodile in Seattle, WA. The tour will cover 14 major cities across America and conclude at the Rock N Roll Hotel in Washington D.C. on August 17th. Joining The Script on the road this summer is the soulful pop-rock group Parachute.

The Script are Dubliners Danny O'Donoghue (keys and vocals), Mark Sheehan (guitar) and Glen Power (drums). This extremely talented trio's debut has already spawned numerous hit singles abroad, including the band's first official U.S. single, "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" which reached #1 in 5 countries and is currently holding strong in the Top 20 at Adult Radio stateside. THE SCRIPT is currently 2x platinum in the UK, 5x platinum in Ireland, and is a story of both tragedy and triumph, struggle and survival - the epic journey of 3 Dublin boys from the wrong side of the tracks.

2008 proved to be an extremely successful year for The Script. With the release of their debut album in the UK landing them the #1 spot on the Billboard chart, receiving The Best Irish Band Award at the World Music Awards, performing at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, as well as selling out their first UK headlining tour in under 24 hours - The Script is ready to take America by storm. Since the U.S. release of THE SCRIPT, the band has performed on The Today Show and The CBS Saturday Early Show, been hand-picked as VH1's powerful "You Oughta Know" artist, and have seen their tracks featured in the CBS hit show The Ghost Whisperer as well as throughout the entire season of VH1's Sober House. Most recently the band appeared on MTV's The Hills which propelled their album up the iTunes chart to #15. Up next for The Script is the honor of supporting musical heroes U2 in their native Ireland in July.

For more information on The Script please visit: www.thescriptmusic.com

Tickets: $12.00 in advance & $15.00 day of show, not including applicable fees. Tickets are on sale Friday, May 29 at 10am online at Tickets.com or by visiting www.stgpresents.org.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Touch-Screens Driving Smartphone Sales

A recent Gartner Research report found that smartphone unit sales - including iPhones, Blackberry models and the Google Android-based phone - climbed to more than 36.4 million units worldwide, a 12.7% increase from the same period last year. This massive growth in smart phone sales also indicates a huge rise in the number of people who can easily access the mobile Web from their phones.

Learn more >

Monday, June 1, 2009

Tickets.com Awarded CIO 100 Technology Award by CIO Magazine

Tickets.com Recipient of CIO 100 Award

Recognized as a leader in operational and strategic excellence in information technology, Tickets.com has been honored by CIO Magazine as a recipient of the 2009 CIO 100 Award. Tickets.com is a leading provider of fully integrated online event ticketing services for thousands of top arts, entertainment, and sports organizations worldwide.

Read more >