Luke Bryan
August 2017 Syracuse, NY
Lake View Amphitheater
Luke Bryan has a very good VIP program. I was lucky enough to win a meet and great for the second time for the Syracuse, NY show. He is incredibly nice and it’s always a great experience to meet him in person. Like many country artists, Luke has a fan club entry to win his meet and greats. Luke has such a kind, humble, fun personality and truly makes each fan that he interacts with feel special.
I understand why a lot of country artists do this: accessible for all fans vs. only those who can afford it. That makes the process a great thing.
Entering the VIP: You sign in, receive a red bag and a 2-3 song acoustic set and some finger snacks. The VIP area is very intimate and Luke performs really well. He really is so laid back and fun in these performances.
Suggestions for his staff & CID Entertainment: I have been saying this one for a few years now number the wrist bands given out when you enter and possibly allow groups of 50 in at a time. But when it’s time to enter the acoustic tent area, make them line up in order by bracelet number. That will seriously cut down on the insane running, pushing, coming up from the back that occurs and keeps it fair, if you get there on time you go in first. Tim McGraw’s VIP staff does that and it works very well. It didn’t take much time at all to get everyone in number order. Plus who wants to have to run like crazy to get into an event when you were among the first 20 in line? One other suggestion would be to offer a limited # of VIP Meet & Greet tickets for purchase to compliment the fan club meet and greet contest. Keith Urban did that last tour and I believe sold 5 or 6 per show, we got the party, M&G and there was a roped off up front spot in the pit we were escorted into. I know a few friends of mine would love to meet Luke but, have not been lucky enough to win yet and with Luke’s ever growing popularity it will be harder.
Venue Comments: This was my first time attending an event at the Lakeview Amphitheater. I thought the venue itself was very nice. Getting in wasn’t bad, I had a family member drop us off. Getting out was miserable. 1st they need way more lighting, the ground is very uneven in spots and you couldn’t see where you were walking. We had heard it was fast to take the Centro buses downtown after. That didn’t work out to be a fast option because they did not have a bus only lane so the bus got stuck in all the traffic. They should have a car lane and a bus lane so the buses going downtown and to the parking lots could easily move in and out and be way more efficient. The prices were also outrageous compared to other venues I have attended. $7 for a soda/water, $15 for a drink. I am not sure if attending events at this venue will be top of my list to return to.
Videos:
Final Verdict: Definitely recommend Luke’s VIP!
Fun concert wear!
http://www.coach.com/shop/women-wristlets
Until Next Time,
Xoxo
Heather
I’ve had the pleasure of being a VIP for the last five Dancing with the Stars tours. From the first tour I participated in the VIP to this year’s tour I must say: It’s like night and day! They have improved them tremendously! So let’s talk about the details of the VIP!
Now on to the good stuff! After check in we were directed upstairs. We didn’t wait very long at all when they started telling Group A to line up. A few minutes later we saw Alan and Britt coming our way, it was their turn to do the Meet & Mingle! It appears that it’s all rotating like last tour (2 in the Meet & Mingle and 4 in the photos with Emma & Rashad/Heather being consistent). To give you an idea for our cast photo we had Emma, Lindsay, Rashad & Gleb. I will update this after each show to give you all an idea:
The photos were wonderful as always. In all past tours I have attended they have always taken 2 pictures, this time they only did 1. The staff is also very kind, nobody is yelling at you it’s a pleasant experience. You do have to leave your purse, bags and anything else on you at the table and you cannot ask for autographs etc. at the cast photo portion. This year too it was one professional photo taken by VIP Nation host, no selfie options in the main photo. You could however do selfies with the dancers in the Meet & Mingle. I did not honestly see the green screen option anywhere at either VIP party in Durham so I cannot comment on that. After the photos were done and the dancers all left to get ready for the show you could go to the merchandise stand and do some crowd free shopping which was also nice.
Suggestions for Tour Management: This is something I have been thinking about. For the Maks & Val Tour and the Derek & Julianne tours there was another top level tier package when you got pictures in the VIP and then got extra time with them backstage. I know the VIP photos are with “select” dancers (4 the last 2 tours) at each city but, many fans have voiced their disappointment when their “favorite” isn’t in their photo since it’s a random rotation. I have heard many voice their displeasure at paying several hundred dollars but not getting a pic with their favorite. What if you added another ticket tier or made it with the front row packages that you get your pic with the rest of the VIP’s and then you are either taken down just before the show or just after and get a photo with the full tour cast? If you sold a very limited # of them it wouldn’t take that much extra time. That way you those that truly want to meet them all would have the chance and it would then add another tier package for you. I know I would sign up for that for sure!
If possible rotate the dancers if you are doing two shows in one city. Some of us like to go to both shows and it would be great to get pics with two sets of dancers since you are paying VIP at both.
The vision and layout for this tour is truly worth 10 Stars! The crew and all the other behind the scenes individuals also deserve a shout out! The Dancers (Sharna, Gleb, Artem, Lindsay, Sasha, Keo, Emma, Hayley, Alan and Britt all truly leave it on the floor each night. It’s emotional, it’s passionate, it’s raw, it’s FUN, it’s full of energy and I am so excited I will get to see this tour multiple times and have a new take away each night!
Want to see more photos? For many more pictures from the tour, past tours please follow me on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook @lightscmemories! If you have any questions that I can help with please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Suggestions for his staff: One suggestion would be to offer a limited # of VIP tickets for purchase to compliment the fan club meet and greet contest. I know a few friends of mine would love to meet Dierks but, have not been lucky enough to win yet and with Dierks’ s ever growing popularity it will be harder. 
They started lining us up for our photos and as always the experience was awesome with the guys. Once all the group photos were done those of us that had the Ultimate upgrade were lined back up (we had an interaction just us and the guys). I love that they give this option! I entered and was met by Danny and Donnie. I was joking around with Donnie saying you always tell me to remind you to follow me on twitter but, you never follow. Little did I know at that time that Jordan was doing a FB live so Donnie’s face lights up and next thing I know Donnie is live following me on twitter after all these years on Jordan’s FB live. The entire experience had me laughing harder than I had in years! Joe was commentating, Jordan and Donnie were being absolutely hilarious. I quite literally had the time of my life in that 5-10 minutes I was with them. They all made me feel so special and really after the year I had to that point I needed a great laugh and they sure delivered.
Show: I had a pit ticket for the Raleigh show and then had a lower bowl seat for Charlotte. The pit is always such a crap shoot. I ended up with this very tall, very drunk woman in front of me when they were on the inside stage and didn’t really have any interaction when they were on the outer stage. In retrospect I probably should have done the bar stools like last tour. The lower bowl seat in Charlotte was ok and we did have interaction with Donnie when he was returning to the stage one time.
Final Verdict: NKOTB does it right, they always have in my opinion. In past blogs I have talked about the cruise. I would say if given the chance to only do one, I would always chose the VIP at one of their concerts. They are all such nice guys, the personal interaction you have with them is just second to none in my opinion. I have loved them since I was 15 years old and still love them today. As with a lot of other blogs I have done on other artists the VIP staff can either make or break your experience. In Raleigh it was totally fantastic, in Charlotte it was a poor experience the way they handled check in, the groups, not caring when several organized groups of 10 were split up.
Show/VIP: The show was great, filled with creativity, awesome dance #’s. The VIP after the show was great as always with Derek & Julianne doing a Q&A for a good half hour or so, being very candid and showing off how down to earth they are. After the Q&A we were escorted back for our photo opportunity. They are both very nice and laid back. After that it was time to go, it was long night.
Final Verdict: Derek & Julianne were awesome the tour company should have been a lot more considerate to the VIP’s and emailed us instead of expecting us to sit around for 3+ hours because the VIP was moved to after the show!
Backstage Tour: We were taken down in groups to do the tour. It’s a fun experience because you get to peak in JBJ’s quick change room, you might get a chance run in with Phil X or John Shanks even! They allow you up on stage to take photos with the white mic stand, keyboards, drums etc. After the tour you return to the party area where they have a cash bar and some snack type foods.
The show is always a super fun high energy show. Bon Jovi has been one of my favorite bands since I was 15 and it’s been fun watching them evolve over the years. I love having Phil X and John Shanks on stage now they both add a new and different energy and dynamic to the band and Jon just seems so much more relaxed during this tour and truly seemed to be having a lot of fun! There truly is nothing like a Bon Jovi concert and this show was no different with a great mix of the new and older music and JBJ even sang Always for us during the encore which was a great surprise!
Venue Comments: My seat was ok but, I had a friend that also had a front row seat and she was so far down she wasn’t even in front of the stage. I would say don’t sell those as seats if they are going to be staring at a black curtain vs the band.
This was my 21st Runaway Tours trip. They have improved so much since my first one back in 2011. Back then you had to be in a big group photo with 8-10 other people you didn’t know. Now you get a photo with JBJ based on how many are in your room, single, double and sometimes triple depending on the options they give you. This trip included 2 nights hotel stay (there was also a no hotel option), a welcome party, bus to/from the venue, the show, a photo with JBJ & the band for this trip grouped by room, a great signed photo that I will treasure and a small zip up bag with the Runaway Tours logo on it.
After the Q&A we all lined up for our photos. It was another nice but, quick photo opportunity and then we were told there was about an hour before the party room would open. Not sure in this case if that was planned or maybe the Q&A went shorter than they had originally planned or what. A few of us left the hotel and went to find some dinner. I was pretty tired after returning from dinner but I did swing by the party for a bit to see friends. This trip had a really good group of people on it which I thought made it a lot of fun.
his trip was different because it was occurring during the tour so instead of the acoustic show you were able to attend a full Bon Jovi Concert which is always amazing. In the interest of full disclosure I always upgrade my seats because the seats Runaway is given just are not where I prefer to sit at a concert. This tour in both Ft Lauderdale and LA they were in the first few rows of the section full floor section. However this is why I prefer to do Runaway Tours when they are on tour so I can guarantee I will be thrilled with where I am sitting.
I upgraded the front row experience for this show. Due to the fact we had a package and had to arrive earlier than the buses were leaving a bunch of us that upgraded car pooled to the venue with a local friend. More on the experience in a future blog. After the show the buses were easy to find and we jumped on and got back to the hotel pretty quickly.
One suggestion I would love to see implemented for tour travel companies is a loyalty program. Wouldn’t it be so cool to say after you have done 25 trips you get something like a meet and greet or x period of time with JBJ, at 50 trips you get xyz. That would make people really want to go on a lot of trips to achieve that status/rewards. Very similar to how cruise lines, airlines have reward programs and how Aerosmith does their concert tickets. Similar to the Keith Urban 100 club concept which I will also cover in a future blog.
Hi guys! So happy to be featured in this guest blog by Heather, it’s amazing and such a pleasure! I’m going to be telling you all about my amazing experience doing the DWTS We Came To Dance Tour VIP. First of all, I have to thank Heather again for this opportunity to meet my favorite dancers and watch an incredible show up so close. It was the best time of my life, and I loved every second of it. Forever grateful for that experience and to have met the wonderful person that’s Heather. 
Afterwards, it was time for the mingle with Hayley & Lindsay! So glad they added this to the VIPs because it gives you so much time to be able to really chat with them and take individual pictures. I was beyond happy that Hayley was in my mingle because I really wanted her there. I got to talk to her multiple times and take pics with her, and sometimes we’d just go back if nobody was talking to her. One of my favorite moments talking to Hayley was telling her about me and Erica’s name in the jive she does, and her laugh is the cutest thing. She really made this VIP experience so special. Lindsay was super sweet to meet again, and when she was leaving she even helped give my gift to Laurie. I loved how interactive they were with fans! Both the m&g and mingle was absolutely perfect, even better than I expected. Moments I’ll treasure forever! 
We got to sit in the second row right in the middle, and I had such a perfect view. It was unbelievable how close I was, and the whole show there was so much contact made between me and the dancers. You can also hear things they say when you’re so close up, and it was just wonderful. The show was absolutely perfect, everything to the costumes, dances, voiceovers, made this show incredible and really made me connect with them more. My first VIP experience was just indescribable and made me so happy, I smile just thinking about it. Thank you once again to Heather, the whole cast, and friends who experienced this with me. If you can, definitely get VIP or just general tickets to the show because wherever you sit, it’ll be an amazing time for you. January 21st, 2017 is a day I’ll remember always! XO -Sandra
VIP Shout Out! I was thrilled to see that we have one of VIP Nation’s best hosts Anthony Jones for this tour! He also did the Maks & Val Tour this summer. He is not only a really nice guy, he gets it and works to post pictures as quick as he can (remember we all have to be patient), he checks the photos after he takes them and truly cares about the customers. High-five Anthony when you see him in your city because he really is a rock star for the fan experiences!
Now on to the good stuff! After check in we were directed upstairs. For this venue the layout was a bit odd compared to other venues I have been to but, they have to work with the space the building offers. We didn’t wait very long at all when they started telling Group A to line up. A few minutes later we saw Keo and Alan coming our way, it was their turn to do the Meet & Mingle! It appears that it’s all rotating like last tour (2 in the Meet & Mingle and 4 in the photos with Val & Laurie being consistent ). To give you an idea for our cast photo we had Val, Laurie, Sharna & Gleb. I will update this after each show to give you all an idea:
The photos were wonderful as always, it was my first time meeting Laurie & Gleb and it was so fantastic to see Val & Sharna. Anthony takes great care in taking the photos for us. The staff is also very kind, nobody is yelling at you it’s a pleasant experience. You do have to leave your purse, bags and anything else on you at the table and you cannot ask for autographs etc. at the cast photo portion. This year too it was one professional photo taken by Anthony, no selfie options in the main photo. You could however do selfies with the dancers in the Meet & Mingle. The green screen operator for this city wasn’t the best at taking the shots and they were having issues with the Wi-Fi not being fast enough so the green screen pictures were very hit or miss on if you got them in your email. However, Anthony with VIP Nation being the rock star host that he is, is already on it for us! I noticed today in the photos link there is one for the Meet & Greet pictures and then one for the Photo booth. That was smart thinking to just upload them all vs having issues city to city with Wi-Fi. After the photos were done and the dancers all left to get ready for the show you could go to the merchandise stand and do some crowd free shopping which was also nice.
Please note on the pics: the itinerary says up within to 2 weeks. I know it’s super hard to be patient but, I know Anthony will post as quickly as he can. He is one of the best in speed to get them posted.
You will get to see a few of the best dances of our Mirrorball Champions Val & Laurie and a few other truly amazing performances by the cast from this season. However, my lips are sealed on more details for now so you can be surprised and enjoy the shows in your city.