WARNER FIELD LOTTERY!!

[rossstevens]

what do you guys think of the warner lottery next year . it could solve a lot of problems with tickets but also it will be harder to get tickets , i think . it makes me a little nervous .

[dayton]

is this for real
will there be a warner field lottery?

if so, this makes me nervous too...
 
i really like warner tickets the way they have been because i've known that if we're ready when the time comes, we've gotten our tickets without a hitch.

any clarification...



...modification minutes later after dreadful clarification on PB's website...  WTF!!!
 
Lame Decision on Warner Field Lottery



 Listening to: della mae

[landshark]

what do you guys think of the warner lottery next year . it could solve a lot of problems with tickets but also it will be harder to get tickets , i think . it makes me a little nervous .

  Hey Ross

I think it will be very hard to secure a ticket this year for WF and TBF in general. The internet and scalping is just off the charts crazy saturate the market for those few who can afford 30 tickets . It will be interesting to see how many devoted fans of TBF get shut out again for those few greedy folks that have to turn everything into a flippin possible income situation. I personally, hope they have to eat it. The cost that is, like last year, many tickets going for less then face at the gate. Greed never pays off in the end

[dayton]

I think it will be very hard to secure a ticket this year for WF and TBF in general. The internet and scalping is just off the charts crazy saturate the market for those few who can afford 30 tickets . It will be interesting to see how many devoted fans of TBF get shut out again for those few greedy folks that have to turn everything into a flippin possible income situation. I personally, hope they have to eat it. The cost that is, like last year, many tickets going for less then face at the gate. Greed never pays off in the end

the biggest problem for us is that it is a four day drive, or a day of flying and then a several hour drive, to show up to the gate in need of a miracle or a ticket for less than face...  for folks that come a long distance, and don't have a huge income, it is a major benefit to plan ahead and secure tickets well in advance in order to plan for travel...  i don't know, i guess its up to fate as to whether or not camping in warner field is a reality for the working class and folks from far away...   

[landshark]

I think it will be very hard to secure a ticket this year for WF and TBF in general. The internet and scalping is just off the charts crazy saturate the market for those few who can afford 30 tickets . It will be interesting to see how many devoted fans of TBF get shut out again for those few greedy folks that have to turn everything into a flippin possible income situation. I personally, hope they have to eat it. The cost that is, like last year, many tickets going for less then face at the gate. Greed never pays off in the end

the biggest problem for us is that it is a four day drive, or a day of flying and then a several hour drive, to show up to the gate in need of a miracle or a ticket for less than face...  for folks that come a long distance, and don't have a huge income, it is a major benefit to plan ahead and secure tickets well in advance in order to plan for travel...  i don't know, i guess its up to fate as to whether or not camping in warner field is a reality for the working class and folks from far away...   

I am in no way suggesting you arrive without a ticket in hand. I suggest never buying a ticket from anyone other then the Planet. This hoarding of tickets caused a lower then usual attendance. it shut out several folks that wanted to buy in the correct way and forced them to stay home. And then there was a flood of folks with many unused tickets in hand trying to almost give them away. Bad deal any way you slice it up.
You and LaLa are always welcome to stay with me no matter what.
This is just my own observation.

[dayton]

thanks miki
your the best!
lally's told me about a steam room... that could be nice change from warner...


 Listening to: the cats purring

[landshark]

 


Crazy good! I hope we all get through the Lottery.

See you in June!

[ShatteredArm]

what do you guys think of the warner lottery next year . it could solve a lot of problems with tickets but also it will be harder to get tickets , i think . it makes me a little nervous .

  Hey Ross

I think it will be very hard to secure a ticket this year for WF and TBF in general. The internet and scalping is just off the charts crazy saturate the market for those few who can afford 30 tickets . It will be interesting to see how many devoted fans of TBF get shut out again for those few greedy folks that have to turn everything into a flippin possible income situation. I personally, hope they have to eat it. The cost that is, like last year, many tickets going for less then face at the gate. Greed never pays off in the end

I don't see it being any more difficult this year than last.  The effect we saw this year was an overreaction to 2011, when there was a certain band that happened to reach the top of the charts early in the year, bringing a lot of newfound attention to the festival.  Many of us simply bought extra tickets for 2012 thinking we would need to do so in order to avoid our friends being shut out (I personally bought two extras, and had to hawk one of them for $50 before Fogerty's set).

I think there could be a slight uptick in demand due to its being the 40th anniversary, but I doubt it will be enough to overcome what I suspect will be a downward correction in extra tickets purchased.  Unless there is a major lineup announcement before tickets go on sale, I don't know that scalpers would want to risk being burned a second time.

Also, the economy.

[swander99]

I don't see it being any more difficult this year than last.  The effect we saw this year was an overreaction to 2011, when there was a certain band that happened to reach the top of the charts early in the year, bringing a lot of newfound attention to the festival.  Many of us simply bought extra tickets for 2012 thinking we would need to do so in order to avoid our friends being shut out (I personally bought two extras, and had to hawk one of them for $50 before Fogerty's set).

I think there could be a slight uptick in demand due to its being the 40th anniversary, but I doubt it will be enough to overcome what I suspect will be a downward correction in extra tickets purchased.  Unless there is a major lineup announcement before tickets go on sale, I don't know that scalpers would want to risk being burned a second time.

I would really like to agree with you ShArm, but I believe adding WF to the lottery will limit our chances for TP even more. We'll probably still have a four ticket limit on our lottery entry for TP with no backup plan available to get into WF.  I agree that the demand for TBF in general may not exceed the last two years, but the competition for TP/WF camping will fierce as ever. 
  Hoping the FestiTicketGoddesses are good to us this year! 

 Listening to: KIN - Rodney Crowell {TBF 2013?}

[rossstevens]

yeah , this year was kinda strange . alot of new faces and different crowd . younger and seems like they don't listen to bluegrass . also i noticed that alot of the old timers weren't there either . it felt like a bigger festival than before . i've been going for about 6 years now and it feels bigger and bigger each year . i want the small festival back . and thats probably why they are doing the lottery now . too bad

[Pilgrim99]

I would really like to agree with you ShArm, but I believe adding WF to the lottery will limit our chances for TP even more. We'll probably still have a four ticket limit on our lottery entry for TP with no backup plan available to get into WF.  I agree that the demand for TBF in general may not exceed the last two years, but the competition for TP/WF camping will fierce as ever. 
  Hoping the FestiTicketGoddesses are good to us this year! 

Don't sweat it, Swander! It will work out. One way or another, we'll be sitting in the sun, sipping (well maybe more than sipping) some fat tire and listening to great music.

yeah , this year was kinda strange . alot of new faces and different crowd . younger and seems like they don't listen to bluegrass . also i noticed that alot of the old timers weren't there either . it felt like a bigger festival than before . i've been going for about 6 years now and it feels bigger and bigger each year . i want the small festival back . and thats probably why they are doing the lottery now . too bad

I got the same feeling this year, but I also think the previous comment about a downward correction in tickets is probably right on. I give PB a lot of credit for making it work out as best they can. If it has to be a lottery, it has to be a lottery. I've only been able to camp in TP once in the past 5 years, would love to again, but will buy my 4-day passes and stay in a condo if the lottery gods don't smile on me. Big expense, and the sum total of my vacation $$ for the year, but well worth it just to be at the festival.

As for a different crowd, on the one hand I think it's cool that some noobs are enjoying the music, on the other it's annoying to see folks who want to approach it like it's Bonnaroo. But as I recall, there have always been a few of them every year. Hopefully, most of them figured out that's not how TBF rolls and will search elsewhere.

 Listening to: local news on the TV---and political ads

[BluegrassDustin]

Hey Everyone. Can I chime in here for a minute?

The festival attendance last year was on par with the past 5 years or so. Any perceived difference was just that. Generally speaking, the same number of smiling faces were through the gate as years past (with some variance that happens from year to year).

The biggest problem with tickets last year, in my opinion as someone who tries to keep an eye on such things, was not scalpers (though there were some, obviously) but was the hording of tickets by Festivarians. I'm guessing that this was mostly the "newbies" who had experienced the insane demand for tickets during 2011. They bought extra tickets for their friends/ family in hopes that they would decide to come and/or convince them to come. As we saw, there were tons of tickets available leading up to the show. I think this will dissuade many from similar practices this year...at least I hope so.

This is pretty spot on, in my opinion:

I don't see it being any more difficult this year than last.  The effect we saw this year was an overreaction to 2011, when there was a certain band that happened to reach the top of the charts early in the year, bringing a lot of newfound attention to the festival.  Many of us simply bought extra tickets for 2012 thinking we would need to do so in order to avoid our friends being shut out (I personally bought two extras, and had to hawk one of them for $50 before Fogerty's set).

I think there could be a slight uptick in demand due to its being the 40th anniversary, but I doubt it will be enough to overcome what I suspect will be a downward correction in extra tickets purchased.  Unless there is a major lineup announcement before tickets go on sale, I don't know that scalpers would want to risk being burned a second time.

Also, the economy.

The ripple effect of said band certainly had it's affect on the festival tickets. More than from a scalper angle last year, I think that LOTS of new Festivarians were introduced to the festival in 2011 and wanted to come back just like many of you did in (insert year here). I also think that addresses the comments about lots of younger faces.

Unfortunately, there were some veterans that did miss last year. Obviously that's not what we want, but I'm under the impression (my personal deduction here) that many just didn't want to deal with the hassle of trying to find tickets (regular 4-day passes at the very least). They've never had to before, and they don't plan on starting now. I can understand that, to an extent. We all know there is a fantastic community (especially here on the forum) that is more than willing to help "the family" find tickets, but I think many were just a bit put off by the need to undergo such stresses...again, I can understand that mentality. Hopefully, that will not be the case this year.

This year's anniversary will likely be no different that anniversaries of the past and tickets will be fairly in demand. How in demand? That's anybody's guess. Last year was SO unprecedented for Planet Bluegrass that it's hard to even guess. My (again, personal comment here) feeling is that it will be somewhere in between last year's craziness and a more "normal" year...whatever that means anymore.

The lottery for Warner Field has been a long time coming. Warner Field tickets sold out last year in under an hour. That was the culmination of years of increasing demand for the campground. We're working on ways to try and incorporate some parameters so that those that are regular Warner Field campers will have a fair shot at the tickets. We're working through the details now and nothing is yet set in stone.




D.

[swander99]

This year's anniversary will likely be no different that anniversaries of the past and tickets will be fairly in demand. How in demand? That's anybody's guess. Last year was SO unprecedented for Planet Bluegrass that it's hard to even guess. My (again, personal comment here) feeling is that it will be somewhere in between last year's craziness and a more "normal" year...whatever that means anymore.

The lottery for Warner Field has been a long time coming. Warner Field tickets sold out last year in under an hour. That was the culmination of years of increasing demand for the campground. We're working on ways to try and incorporate some parameters so that those that are regular Warner Field campers will have a fair shot at the tickets. We're working through the details now and nothing is yet set in stone.

Thanks for the chime from the home planet, BD, but nothing I've read here eases my fear of the battles to come with only one lotto shot at TP and WF.  Unprecedented guessing incorporating new parameters to make it fair for whom? Sorry D, those are the only words I remember reading. Whatever you come up with is what we'll doing, that's fersure! 

Thanks P-99 for your kind festicouragment on my behalf. No worries, you know I'll be there w/all y'all (and the Fat Tire) in the fest field sunshine. It's the getting everybody there w/me that is getting too crazy. 
 

 

 Listening to: wdvx online in heart(flat)land office

[landshark]

I mean really,  blindfold use and scatter all the WF tickets on the grass, open the gates, let us all in at once on hands and knees, scramble, scoop, sniff. This could be a sport.... May the best person win

Oh you know I'm just kidding. But it would make some fun pics.

[landshark]

I mean really,  blindfold use and scatter all the WF tickets on the grass, open the gates, let us all in at once on hands and knees, scramble, scoop, sniff. This could be a sport.... May the best person win

Oh you know I'm just kidding. But it would make some fun pics.

All kidding aside, it is the historical camps that make the fest and it would be a crime not to figure out a way for these folks(family) to come together for fest. That is the true essence of fest, playing together for  24/4