Obviously a sign they're about as far from selling out as I am from passing the Minnesota State Bar exam -- but also a case of them simply wanting to show off their new place and event to as many people as possible -- organizers of this weekend's SoundTown festival in Somerset, Wis., have rolled out a 50 percent discount deal for admission today over at the e-discount site CrowdCut. The $50 two-day passes are now available for $25. Click here to see the offer, which expires at midnight.
Even if you're not into the 29 other bands, that $25 price is basically a good deal even if you just want to go Saturday to see the big headliner, the Flaming Lips. The Lips' tickets at Roy Wilkins last fall were $39.50. The Current 89.3 FM -- which has been promoting this thing almost as vehemently as its own Rock the Garden concert -- has also been giving away tons of passes.
The festival's obviously sluggish ticket sales are not exactly a calamity, however. Here's the story for Friday's Star Tribune on the new owner of the Somerset Amphitheater, advertising heir Matt Mithun, and his bold efforts to reshape the former Float-Rite space on the Apple River.
SoundTown's crew certainly aren't the first concert promoters to resort to e-deals to sell tickets. Tickets to Britney Spears' show at Xcel Energy Center last month were sold at slashed prices via Groupon, and she still only half-filled the place (just two years after she sold out Target Center). Sade's Target Center show last week also went up on Groupon for $20. Rolling Stone just ran a story on how dozens of artists are using Groupon on a regular basis now. Before this, many KQRS-sponsored shows have also wound up being sold at slashed prices through a Ticketmaster e-alert, including Kiss' last show at Target Center.
