Jimmy Buffett, who has likely grossed more than $25 million (by conservative estimates) from the Cincinnati market over the past 25 years, isn't done yet.
The troubadour, who has turned the beach bum persona into his Margaritaville entertainment corporation, is asking $128 (plus service charges) for a pavilion ticket when his June 8 Riverbend concert goes on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. Lawn seats are $38; (513) 562-4949;
www.ticketmaster.com;
www.riverbend-music.com.
That appears to be the top-end standard ticket price at the some 15 venues Buffett has announced from April through August.
It is the highest ticket price Buffett has ever charged, a 45 percent increase over last year's $88 Riverbend ticket, at the time the highest that Buffett had charged. Last August's Buffett show sold out in minutes.
It is one of the highest ticket prices in Riverbend's 22-year history, rivaled by two concerts in 2003 from Fleetwood Mac ($132.50) and the Kiss/Aerosmith double bill ($127.75). The Eagles reunion tour broke the three-figure barrier at the venue in 1995 ($112.50).
"It's a big ouch," said Tim Klaber, a board member of the Cincy Parrothead Club, when asked how the beak freak faithful are responding to the Buffett price.
"Everyone's going, '... I can't believe the price.' Nobody likes it. But you know what? We'll pay it. Maybe we've been lucky. Buffett's such a hot summer act maybe he was underpriced for a lot of those years."
Klaber remembers waiting in line at the old Record Theater in Norwood in the early '80s to get tickets for Buffett shows at Timberwolf Amphitheater at Kings Island. It was there that the parrothead phenomenon started.
"I think I paid $20." Klaber said. "That may be the service charge this year."
Concert promoters say the price of tickets is driven by what bands are demanding. Concert insiders say up to 90 percent of the ticket price goes to the artist.
Riverbend spokeswoman Rosemarie Dalba cautioned the Buffett ticket price should not be seen as a price trend for summer shows.
"Absolutely not," she said. "This is just Jimmy Buffett. If anything, there is a more conscious effort paid these days to keeping ticket prices affordable. This is definitely not a trend for the summer."
The only other concert the venue has announced is for the Dave Matthews Band on Aug. 1. The $59 per ticket mirrors his top ticket price of the past few seasons. Matthews' shows have frequently sold out and the artist has often talked about keeping ticket prices reasonable.
Dalba said the summer touring business is booking late this season and she doesn't expect Riverbend to have many more announcements until later in April. She said it's possible, but not certain, that Buffett's show may actually open the pop music season at the venue owned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Pop music shows at Riverbend are booked by Live Nation, formerly known as Clear Channel Entertainment until the giant radio corporation spun off its concert business last year.
Buffett's summer touring schedule is a light one. He plans just 15 stops. That amounts to less than three weeks on the road. He has just five dates planned in early June and six in early August with some appearances in the West and South in the next two months
