Fans of the Grateful Dead showed their love for the band over the weekend, buying every last ticket available for the reunion shows set to happen at Chicago's Soldier Field in July. The three shows slated for July 3 to 5 sold out in one hour Saturday, Feb. 28. Ticketmaster did not crash even with the demand for tickets reaching the millions, Billboard noted.
Producers of the show, which will feature the surviving members of the group as well as Trey Anastasio from Phish filling in for legendary guitarist Jerry Garcia, knew ticket demand was high when they received more than 500,000 requests via snail mail in January. That prompted Peter Shapiro and Madison House Presents to change the stage arrangement to a 360-degree model, making all parts of the sports complex available for seating. With each individual show selling out, 210,000 lucky fans -- 70,000 each night -- will experience the iconic jam band one final time.
"We've definitely tapped into something," Shapiro said. "It's cultural phenomenon time."
Fans who missed out on the tickets can check out second-party dealers, but the prices will be set well above face value. Stub Hub has tickets available and the asking prices are brutal.
Shapiro and his team are also exploring the option of offering pay-per-view events across the United States for the concerts.
"We want to provide video and audio, the best shit out there, and try to bring it to people with the same vibe as being there," he added.
The Fare Thee Well concerts will celebrate 50 years of the Grateful Dead. Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Anastasio will jam alongside special guests like Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti.
"Lookin' forward to this one, oh boy, you bet. Let's see just how much fun we can have this 4th of July," Weir said after the initial announcement.
