Slow ticket sales cancel Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza, once the jewel of summer music festivals, has been cancel ed this year because of poor ticket sales.
Despite a lineup featuring Morrissey, the reunited Pixies, Flaming Lips, and Sonic Youth, ticket sales remained slow, except in New York, for the 16-city tour, prompting yesterday's cancellation announcement. Scheduled to begin July 14 in Washington state, Lollapalooza organizers had planned Aug. 14 and 15 shows at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield.
``I am in utter disbelief that a concert of this stature, with the most exciting lineup I've seen in years, did not galvanize ticket sales,'' festival co-founder Marc Geiger said on the official Lollapalooza website. ``I'm surprised that given the great bands and the reduced ticket prices that we didn't have enough sales to sustain the tour. Concert promoters across the country are facing similar problems. Many summer tours are experiencing weak ticket sales.''
With no indication ticket sales would increase, festival organizers, faced with substantial financial losses, wiped out all 31 shows. On the festival's website, cofounder Perry Farrell said, ``My heart aches along with the bands, and all of our employees, whose hard work developed one of the most exciting and important tours that this nation was to see. My heart is broken.''
Officials from Clear Channel Entertainment, which books the Tweeter Center, issued a statement announcing the cancellation but declined further comment.
Lollapalooza is the first major casualty in what is already shaping up to be a sluggish concert season, even for such big-draw acts as Dave Matthews, Norah Jones, and Ozzfest, which has been one of summer's biggest festival tours for the past several years.
``I don't think everything is as bad as the ticket sales were for Lollapalooza, which were pretty dismal across the board,'' said Gary Bongiovani, editor-in-chief of Pollstar, the concert industry's trade magazine. ``But there are a lot of tours that are struggling.''
Various factors, including an overcrowded concert season and high ticket prices, have contributed to this year's downturn, he said.
``With ticket prices increasing so dramatically, it basically becomes a decision on whether to skip a show you've seen before, even if you're a big fan,'' Bongiovani said. ``If ticket prices are up, at some point the market is going to do a self-correction. Concert-going didn't used to be something you had to plan in terms of budget.''
For example, tickets for Madonna's tour, which includes four nights next week at the Worcester Centrum, range from $45 to $300. By comparison, Lollapalooza's prices ranged between $29.50 for general admission and $49.50 for reserved seating; two-day general admission tickets were $50.
Still, Bongiovani said, it was clear that this year's Lollapalooza would have difficulties: ``It might have been that all of the acts were generally older, and an older crowd may not be as interested in eight hours of music outdoors versus the chance to see PJ Harvey in the Orpheum Theatre.''
Boston's Dresden Dolls were scheduled to perform on Lollapalooza's second stage, dubbed the ``Solar Sound Stage,'' a self-contained stage and sound system operated entirely by a solar-powered grid. Lead singer Amanda Palmer found out about the cancellation when her manager called early yesterday morning.
``It's not a huge surprise,'' she said. ``We're aware that shows across the board are tanking this summer. This has been the worst summer for live music.''
The Dresden Dolls, who are scheduled to play Boston's Paradise Rock Club on July 9, released their self-titled CD in April. Lollapalooza would have not only heightened the punk-cabaret duo's profile, but afforded them the chance to interact with other diverse and progressive musicians.
``There's the behind-the-scenes networking that takes place between us, the other bands, and the other bands' crews, and I think missing out on that is a real shame,'' she said. ``I'd already spoken to Perry Farrell about doing extra theatrical touches at every venue. He was really excited, and we were getting pumped up to create more of a spectacle around the solar stage. There was a really good feeling about this being a touring group of people, and not just a bunch of bands slapped together.''
Tickets for Tweeter Center shows will be refunded at the point of purchase.
Renee Graham can be reached at graham@globe.com
