The Rock and Worship Road Show changed its name in 2014 to “Roadshow”. The Roadshow was created by Bart Millard & Co from MercyMe after they noticed that they were selling one of Christian music’s most expensive concert tickets. The Roadshow was created to bring Jesus to the people at an affordable price.
Please see MercyMe’s Bart Millard talks Rock & Worship.
There were several changes to the original idea in 2014 and I believe most of them did not work. Here are some suggestions for Roadshow 2015.
1. Don’t have the show on a Sunday in Utah.
Salt Lake City, Utah, was the last tour stop for the Roadshow. In 2013 the Roadshow visited us for the first time on a Friday night in the Energy Solution Arena. While it attracted a huge crowd the concert did not sell out. We were thrilled that, despite that this event did not sell out the Roadshow visited Salt Lake City again in 2014 at the Maverick Center, a smaller venue. However, we again did not sell out. I want you to come again. I know Utah is not considered a market for Christian Music. I asked all my LDS friends if they are willing to attend this event. And, most of them declined because it was a Sunday. Mormons are taught to keep the Sabbath holy and can’t play or work on Sundays. While I am not LDS 67% of Utahans considers themselves LDS. For more information about the Sabbath please visit The Sabbath at LDS.net. If you want to bring Jesus to the masses, it would be great if they could attend.
2. Please change the layouts of the merchandise tables.
I stayed seated for several minutes after the show in Salt Lake City so the main crowd can exit the building. But the crowd couldn’t. The Skillet merchandise table was set up right at the event exit door. The Third Day merchandise table was at the other main exit door. People were unable to exit the location, to move to another merchandise table, unable to purchase merchandise and unable to help a person who passed out right in front of us. Young children were panicked. There was no room to move back or forward. It was an utter mess and quite dangerous. I have never seen anything like that. If there was a fire I feared that I would have not made it out alive. A kid fell and was thank God caught by their Dad or the child would have been trampled. Move Merchandise tables away from main exit doors. Since Third Day and Skillet were the headliners, their merchandise tables should have been moved downstairs. This way people were free to exit the locations and the smaller unknown band would have had a fair chance to make some sales too. As a mother put it, it wasn’t worth it.
3. Please change back. Do not reserve seats.
In the past fans would line up at the venue hours before the show in order to get the best seating. The ticket price was always 10 bucks at the door. And, the best seats were given to fans who stood first in line. Lines can be fun and it allowed many interactions between fans. In 2014 fans were able to purchase tickets online for $20, in advance at the venue for $10 or still at the door for $10. VIP Tickets were also available. Those choices caused a lot of confusion. If a fan purchased VIP tickets online for $20 USD and another fan purchased tickets for $10 USD at the venue the same day at the same time, the fan that purchased the ticket at the venue got a better seat than the fan that paid more online because seats were still given away on the first come -first serve basis. And, it takes a while before the system recognizes the online sales.
Furthermore I purchased my tickets in early December of 2013 in order to get good seats. My in-laws believed then that they wouldn’t be able to attend. My husband was unsure of attending that event. My women in my women’s group were also unsure. My in-laws were able to go due to do unforeseen circumstances, so they purchased tickets in January. Since I couldn’t get the seat next to me anymore my husband decided it’s best to stay home. And, 6 ladies of my women’s group were going and we all didn’t see each other and sat in different places since all seats were reserved seats. Another lady in my women’s group was scammed by buying tickets for $37 USD each online, which ended up not being a ticket. We could have all sat together if we all showed up early and at the same time at the venue. My suggestion would be to give people the option to buy ticket in advance but not to reserve seats. So others can join in and groups can sit together. Also, I was several times interrupted during the concert because fans were looking for their assigned seat. My suggestion would be to give people the option to buy ticket in advance, but not to reserve seats. So other can join in and groups can sit together.
4. Make it fair for the unknown bands.
The Roadshow was created as a form of ministry by MercyMe. It was affordable and gave people an opportunity to hear about Christ. It seems that this year the prices were hyped up. Skillet fans were encouraged to purchase backstage passes for a hefty price in addition to the Roadshow ticket. That takes the fun out of ministry and the whole purpose out of the Roadshow. I remember Winter Jam in Norfolk, VA where the headliner (Newsboys) was offering to sign every album after the show. Neither Skillet nor Third Day showed themselves after the show. I saw the band Neverclaim before the show trying to advertise their merchandise table by handing out brochures for a free bracelet. The fact is that those bands have to work double as hard as the headliners to make the same amount of money. While Skillet and Third Day already made money before the show due to their VIP and Meet and Greet sales, the Neverclaims had to make themselves available for free before the show and were at the Merchandise table after the show in order to make sales. To keep up with the original ideas of ministry I think it would be best if no additional VIP tickets would be sold.
5. All albums should be sold for the same fair price.
Bart Millard said in the above link to the article that he wants to pay the artists what they are worth. In the past all current albums by all bands (Winter Jam, Roadshow) were available for $5 USD. This year I noticed Third Day offered their album for $8 and Skillet for $5 or the other way around. I can’t remember. And, the band The Neverclaim sold their album for $10.
After Jeffrey Gilbert (former Drummer from Kutless) shared his testimony with us I realize that unknown bands can’t sustain themselves with $5 USD per album. Gilbert was broke during the Winter Jam tour and ended his carrier as a drummer for Kutless in order to pursue a stable income for his family. And, Kutless is a well-known Christian Band.
I overheard Neverclaim discussing Skillet’s and Third Day album for only $5 USD and I felt so burdened that I purchased Neverclaim’s album for $10. Since Skillet and Third Day sold backstage passes for hefty prices, they could afford to sell their album for less than $10 USD at the Roadshow. Neverclaim had to work harder for their album sales and had to give up their time to autograph albums. I believe that Skillet and Third Day shouldn’t have lowered their albums for a lower price so Neverclaim and the Royal Tailor stood a fair chance of selling theirs. I am willing to pay the artists what they are worth.
