Cost prohibited for the average family

[boblindemann]

It is ashamed at the cost of this event. We are a typical middle class family, not rich, but not poor by any means and I couldn't imagine spending this much to take the family out to an event like this. For a family of four it would cost over $2000 after purchasing tickets, camping ($450 to camp in the middle of the desert!?) and food (how much is that burger going to be!?). The basic most inexpensive ticket to this event is more expensive than the top of the line front row tickets to Fan Fair / CMA fest in Nashville in June! It wouldn't cost much more than that $2000 to take the family to Nashville for 4 days to enjoy CMA Fest even after paying for airfare & hotel, in addition a trip to Nashville would be much more fun for the kids than going to Indio!
There seems to be way too much promoter greed going on here and that is ashamed as it could be a great family event!

[Cooter]

greed, huh? not the fact that they are basically setting up a small town for a few days in the middle of the desert? they have to bring everything, and i mean EVERYTHING, in. stages, staff, all production equipment, payment to the venue owners, payment to the city of indio/police, etc. trust me, the promoters are not making off like bandits. but if they didn't make a little money then there would be no festival at all. how much would it cost you to see all of these performers individually? do that math, why dontcha. also noticed you live in san diego. it is possible to just make the drive home each night and sleep in your own bed. i have driven to coachella and then home that night to newport once or twice and it's not the easiest, but it is doable if you are on a budget.

also, did you notice that children 14 and under are free in the ga section? if your kid is 15 and up and wants to go tell them to get a job and help pay for their ticket.

[hillbillyRockstar]

Also, note that the CMA Fest (fan fair) doesn't pay the artists. Stagecoach does (I have to assume) so that will increase the price of tickets.

It is a chunk of change though.

[Kymery]

This is one thing we do as the "parents only" trip. We had so much fun last year and honestly out of my 5 kids, I do think that they would not really appreciate the whole thing. They would probably just want to hang at the RV instead of watch the variety of artists. By the time the headliners would be on they would be ready for bed and my kids are all over 13!

Besides, we can party and not worry about them.

Oh...and I do NOT think Indio is in "the middle of the desert". I work in La Quinta (next door) and stay here three days out of the week and live in Eastvale/Corona. What a beautiful city this is. So much to do. The "desert" which I love...is all dirt etc...this is in a grassy area and very beautiful with tons of palm trees all around you.

[gaypalmsprings]

average families don't attend shows like this

[CountryDuners]

its pretty pricey but after going last year it is worth every penny!! I cant imagine not going =-D

[Powerstroke]

Amen to the obscene pricing... It may not be a big deal to folks that live in places like Newport but to average folks that have to worry about bills, the price is whacked. I'm out here in Cali visiting relatives and heard about the concert but I reckon I'll just have to stick to listening to the radio, instead. I'm having a hard time seeing any Ford pickups in the Stagecoach parking lot with people getting out wearing Wranglers and Ropers and I'm thinking there'll be a lot full of BMW's and people that just got their hair 'done', instead. Oh well, sounds like it would have been fun...

[gaypalmsprings]

[honkytonkangel]

Amen to the obscene pricing... It may not be a big deal to folks that live in places like Newport but to average folks that have to worry about bills, the price is whacked. I'm out here in Cali visiting relatives and heard about the concert but I reckon I'll just have to stick to listening to the radio, instead. I'm having a hard time seeing any Ford pickups in the Stagecoach parking lot with people getting out wearing Wranglers and Ropers and I'm thinking there'll be a lot full of BMW's and people that just got their hair 'done', instead. Oh well, sounds like it would have been fun...

It's called math, Powerstroke, and if you do the math, you'll see that this festival is actually a bargain. I have seen 3 of the Main stage artists at their own headlining shows and that cost me ~$170...that's not to mention all the other artists I have seen as opening acts. It cost me $50 to see Dwight alone. So there you go. And please, keep perpetuating the southern Californian stereotype, maybe it will keep more people from moving here. Have a safe trip back to Texas!!

[IheartMillerLite]

It's called math, Powerstroke, and if you do the math, you'll see that this festival is actually a bargain. I have seen 3 of the Main stage artists at their own headlining shows and that cost me ~$170...that's not to mention all the other artists I have seen as opening acts. It cost me $50 to see Dwight alone. So there you go. And please, keep perpetuating the southern Californian stereotype, maybe it will keep more people from moving here. Have a safe trip back to Texas!!

Well said, and I agree with everything! I've seen many artists headline their own show and I pay over $50 for each one--this is a bargain considering how many headliners there are over the 2 days!

[Kymery]

Believe me there were no BMW's, but plenty of Chevy's, Ford and Dodges towing the RV's in. MANY MANY men and women in wranglers and ropers! I was quite pleased. It did get warm in the day, so the women reverted to shorts and cowboy hats with boots, and the buys just took off the shirts...yummy for both sides!!

It is a bit expensive when you look at it as a bulk purchase, but well worth it. Luckily I won mine last year, and might not be going this year if I dont win again, bills come first, but it IS worth it!. Sheesh I just paid $40 for to Garth tickets and only get him and maybe Trisha, so for another $70 you get 40+ more entertainers over 2 days...hmmmm maybe I will buy a ticket...be right back!

[boblindemann]

The GA tickets are pricey, but bearable. My biggest grip is with these camping fees. Where do they get off charging $75-$100 for the RV, $75-$100 for a tow vehicle, $150 to plug in, and $50 per person? All to camp in a dirt parking lot? It really urks to me that they have the cojones to gouge folks like that! I'm an avid camper and have attended many events in which we camp out at the rodeo grounds somewhere and usually spend about $1-$15 a night, $25 if we want to plug in! I could see them charging $40 or $50 even maybe $60 a night here since it is a more upscale event, but these camping fees are just totally insane! For four or five of us to camp and plug in it would be $500!
The actual GA ticket price is high, but bearable.... but you can’t really break it down per artist and say it is a bargain based on what it would cost to go to see these headliners separately. If you went to the headliners show, they would be on stage much longer and put a lot more into their show compared to what you see here at Stagecoach. Additionally, if the per artist price here is a bargain, the per artist price at the annual CMA Countryfest in Nashville must be a major bargain! Three times as many artists over 4 days and adult ticket prices ranging from $110 for a GA ticket to $275 for a gold circle, compared to the $180 - $500 here! In addition there are many more events & activities at Countryfest that are planned throughout the day.

I'm sure this event will be a good time for all those attending, there is no doubt about that with the performers that are going to be here - and folks here like Kymery have a great idea about leaving the kids at home; but unfortunatley thats not possible for us! Even if we did, we would still have to pay that outrageous camping fee if we wanted to party and not worry about driving to a hotel.

[Countrygurl]

its not a dirt parking lot..

[honkytonkangel]

Dude, boblindemann, did you even go last year?!?!? All the big, headliner type artists played a FULL SET, and maybe they didn't have all the fancy lights and pyrotechnics they might have in their own show, but it was NOT missed. And the energy levels were there FOR SURE! So you absolutely have to break it down on a per artist basis to see the value. Not saying it isn't a lot of money to come up with at one time, but its BASIC MATH people!!!! And from previous posts on this board my understanding is the artists at the CMA fest AREN'T PAID so that is why tickets to that are so cheap, when you DON'T HAVE TO PAY THE ARTIST. Once again, simple math.
But I will agree with you on the cost of bringin in and plugging up an RV!! Those seem outrageous! I priced it out for this year, cuz it looked like it was a lot of fun, but it was too much! So, I'll be in my tent again this year!! GOODTIMES!!

[jenmonkee]

its not a dirt parking lot..

pretty darn close....but sure is fun!

[Countrygurl]

grass

[Broccoli1]

grass

HAH



Honkytonkangel-

use your spurs

[BlkTib]

We had grass. Not a golfing green, but not dirt. We were actually pleased with what we had. Especially after watching the television coverage of what went on the week before.

[jenmonkee]

whatever...after the kareoke it didn't matter if it was grass, dirt, or mud...i'm sure people have more pressing matters to debate...and i didn't say it was dirt just for the record

[BlkTib]

I was actually commenting on the post by Boblindeman "All to camp in a dirt parking lot?". I don't know if he went, but we did. Since we are keeping a record, I just thought it should be correct or whatever!