Luke came to Raleigh for back to back shows this weekend, I went last year and had so much fun I just had to do both shows again this year! Luke never disappoints.
I did VIP for the Friday night show and then purchased a regular ticket for the Saturday night show. Saturday was an epic fail on the part of Coast Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek which is a Live Nation Venue.
Friday Night:
VIP package Amphitheatre shows:
- One (1) premium reserved ticket in the first 20 rows or one (1) general admission pit ticket*
- Invitation to “Luke’s Lounge” before the show with cash bar**
- Two song acoustic pre-show performance by Luke Bryan***
- One (1) exclusive Luke Bryan merchandise gift
- One (1) commemorative laminate
- On-site concert concierge
Due to an accident on the highway I ended up arriving a bit late but, I did find out that CID Entertainment still is using the way they did last year’s so it’s a free or all to get in to the tent and get a good spot. I truly wish they would change to a system others use and hand out #’d bracelets and then make everyone line up outside the tent by number. That is the only fair way to do it otherwise you have sprinters getting by you, line skippers etc. and it’s absolutely not fair. You should enter in the order you check in and a simple cheap hand numbered bracelet would make it fair and organized. Tim McGraw, Steven Tyler etc. all use that and it works! Since I arrived late I didn’t get a good spot in the tent at all. Luke however never disappoints with his special acoustic sets. He always shows such fun personality and provides great performances. I also need to shout out to Jonathan from CID Entertainment. He was very nice and personable and walked around to be sure everyone was having a good time.
After the set I headed to my seats to see the mess that was made by not following the seating that was sold to us at the point of purchase. I ended up with what was supposed to be a 3rd row seat in Section 2 (Center Section) when the tickets were purchased Section 2 Row G was actually front row with the Grey stage in front of it and then the pit on either side. And Row J was 3rd row. Since the venue was not set up the way they sold the tickets it was more like row 7 or 8 which was disappointing. I also had the person behind me steal my cup (VIP giveaway) out from under the seat.
Luke truly brought the FUN tonight and we had a good ole Hurricane party! Luke is by far one of the absolute best live performers out there and truly deserves that Entertainer of the Year the title. He is even more engaging and fun than others that have held the title before him. He played all of his hits and made everyone forget about the rain and wind happening around us. He’s captivating and just full of energy from start to finish. Dustin Lynch and Little Big Town were also absolutely amazing opening performers as well.
Saturday Night:
I ran into Jonathan from CID Entertainment when I was waiting for my Dustin Lynch meet & greet and he said he would run me down a new cup to replace my stolen one from the night before. I think he got busy though unfortunately so I still don’t have the cup. Hoping CID Entertainment will mail me one. I also let him know about the seating issue.
Dustin Lynch is a complete sweetheart. It was so nice to meet him and I will say the photos were posted quickly. Only disappointment was mine was the only one that fuzzy/blurry which is why there should always be 2 photos taken at a Meet & Greet.
Now after seeing the seating issue on Friday night, I started calling Live Nation, and the venue early Saturday in hopes that they would correct the layout and in turn give us what we were sold. I got absolutely no where other than being passed around, everyone pointing the fingers at each other and nobody wanting to do anything. You cannot sell a front row ticket which clearly showed on a map a grey stage in front and the pit on the right and left and then turn around and change it, not notify the customers and then do absolutely nothing about it. The best one was when they tried telling me it was that way last year too and I was like no it wasn’t I was at both shows and was in the left pit both times. I would have bought pit if I knew they were not going to arrange it as sold and it would have saved me money. It’s unacceptable on so many levels. Every single person in the front row with me was furious because we ALL purchased the tickets seeing the same map. However Live Nation had conveniently changed it Friday night after the show. They tried blaming Luke Bryan and team which I thought was crazy. Most artists and especially country artists do not seek to truly screw fans or sell tickets under false pretenses. I called Live Nation and they said the venue said the seating chart did not change there was always a pit, I said yes there was a pit on the left and right of the stage but, not in front of Section 2, they said there is nothing we can do call the venue. I called the venue, they admitted the seating had changed but, said I would have to speak to the Box Office Manager. I left my number and never received a return call. It’s unprofessional, shady sales, it’s a major disappointment to the fans, its false advertising and to all of us that got screwed over its theft in a way. It’s like we went to a car dealership and bought a BMW and then we arrived and they sent us home with a bicycle. The tickets were purchased in April with the stage in grey in front of Section 2, Row G and as recent as the last time we checked it on Thursday it was still a grey stage in front of us. They should have done something. A: Fixed it between Friday and Saturday’s shows. B: Communicated to those that got screwed over. C: Offered something in the form of compensation for what happened. We all paid a premium for those front row seats and had people that had pd ½ of that now standing in front of us. I have lost all faith in Live Nation and Coastal Credit Union Music Park. I was beyond disappointed as were all of the rest of us in the same situation that night. Even two reps from CID Entertainment told us that the layout did not match the map at the point of sale.
Luke’s performance was fantastic but, it was just disappointing not to have been front row. We were dodging tall men all night just to see.
However, I think everyone should go see Luke Bryan, Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch in concert. They are all absolutely fabulous performers and just bring the FUN to the stage in every way and give 200% of themselves out there.
Hopefully Luke will be back next year and hopefully the venue will do something to make up for what they did this year. I know many of us are going to be sure we keep this information out there so that Luke’s team is aware of what the venue did in this case to his fans.
I did also share with Jonathan at CID Entertainment my suggestion for Luke’s Fan Club. I think it’s awesome they do the Meet and Greet Giveaways at each show but, I wish they would improve their entry process so you would receive an email saying your entry was received, good luck or something. Dustin’s fan club does that and at least you know your entry was confirmed.
Concert Wear:
I wore my new Cold shoulder blouse from Bebe, you can get yours here!
I also used my Coach Wristlet and cross body that I was given as gifts from friends for my birthday. They were perfect! The wristlet held my car key, ID, money and credit card and the cross body fit the wristlet, camera and lip gloss with room left over but, it was nice not to have to carry around a bulky purse with me.
http://www.coach.com/shop/women-wristlets
Until next time,
Xoxo
Heather
hug and kiss and we would chat for a bit and he truly makes you feel like you are the most special person in that min. In my opinion he then gets back the mutual respect of each person and you rarely if ever seen him groped in photo and if he’s hugging you or kissing you it’s because that is what he wanted to do. It’s nice to have relaxed experiences and be able to say what you want to say. The photographer then would count down 4, 3, 2, and 1 so you were ready for the photo which again gets an A+ in my book.
I was so excited when I saw that Keith Urban was going to offer VIP packages with his ripCord Tour. The Once in a Lifetime package option allowed you to get an individual photo with Keith! Prior to this you had to win a fan club contest giveaway to meet Keith and I was never fortunate enough to win. I have met Keith at CMA fest though the last two years and he has always impressed me. He has no ego, a genuine kindness, he’s a sweet man and truly one of the best at fan interaction.
I love how Keith uses social media. After every show he will tweet photos and does a short video on IG or Twitter thanking the fans from that city, sharing his thoughts from the evening etc. It’s just a special thing he makes a point of doing and that 1-2 minutes is appreciated by fans.
ved that they had a nice private area so you didn’t have 200+ people all staring at you while you had your photo/meet & greet. While you were waiting you could get your photo taken on the green screen which was nice to have for the memory.
he photos were done you could take advantage of the crowd free merchandise shopping or just hang out at the party. If you had the ultimate package you were escorted by the VIP host & security down to Maks & Val’s dressing room. This was such a small intimate group which makes it truly special. You enter the room, sit down, receive your champagne flute and just sit and visit with Maks & Val for 20 minutes. I seriously cannot say enough of the experience and the fact they would provide individuals with this type of access. They genuinely wa
nt to get to know their fans and it shows in all that they do. While you are in the room they autograph the tour program for you and the special frame that you get with this package. After the time is up the VIP host takes another photo of you and the guys and that gets printed and delivered to you in the frame at the intermission of the show.
ppetizers they offered were very good, the auction items were a wide range of items from donations from friends of Steven’s up to rare items from Steven himself including a stay at his home in Hawaii, concert attire he has worn over the years, paintings/photos autographed, the skittles microphone stand from the commercial and more. Our gift bags were really nice too! Everyone from the staff at Janie’s Fund, Twisted J Apparel, Youth Villages etc you did a fantastic job!
om me that was a bit of a disruption. I will post pictures over the next few weeks on my Instagram/Twitter: @lightscmemories and on FB: https://www.facebook.com/lightscmemories/ and would so appreciate a follow/like on the pages.
f an eye.
nd told us what section we were in etc. At that point they take your cell phones from you and you are given a card to pick them up after the show. After that you go through a metal detector and they check your belongings. Once you are set with that you are escorted into the studio to your section and then to your assigned seats. It was such a surreal experience walking into the studio. It was much smaller than it looks on TV. We were seated on the 2nd level, front row directly across from the judges table and the interview room was directly to my left. It was so exciting to actually be in the studio and to realize I would be able to see everything perfectly from where I was seated.
night. After the 2 or 3 songs ended they asked us to take our seats.
, I was beyond excited for the show to start. A few minutes later we were told to start yelling and clapping as loud as we could and the show started live. The opening number was absolutely amazing, full of energy and just flawless. One interesting thing I noticed right away is it’s absolutely impossible for you to hear what Tom and Erin are saying in the studio because it is so loud. When they are playing the packages that you see on TV they are running on two screens in the studio, one above the stairs to the main stage and then another in the back so their truly isn’t a bad seat in the house. On the 2nd level there was only 2 rows and I am pretty sure the 3rd level was the same. Another amazing thing that you see live is the set change outs. They truly hustle to get those sets torn down and the new ones in within minutes on commercial breaks, I can only ima
gine how much more complicated it is on Disney week.
is guest spot and I will say my opinion is he was hard on some because he knows they can do better. He has won the show, he knows what it takes along with all of his years of dance experience.
ne in their heads. The beauty and pure emotion of some of the dances are just that much more intense in the live audience. Nyle and Sharna’s dance for example had me in tears because you couldn’t help but, feel the emotion of every movement. It’s a bit different than watching it at home. The studio was actually a bit warm too which was a little surprising to me, I had always heard studios were more on the chilly side but, that’s probably for the safety of the pros/stars.
as done we all exited and got into this long line to get our cell phones back. For more on what I thought on the dances please check out my weekly blog.
at time on the show. Kim is so sweet and just radiates happiness. Nyle is even better looking in person, beyond handsome and Ginger is seriously the absolute nicest person. Her husband Ben is incredibly funny and they really are the cutest couple. I also saw Doug Flutie but, didn’t want to ask for a picture because he was with his friends and family at the time and already had quite a few people waiting for him. He seemed to be very kind to each person he was interacting with.
rgy to be a part of the audience. The dances are amazing on TV but, the emotion in person truly is palpable. I will never forget this amazing experience and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity.
time,
sion and energy. As an audience member you feel like you just went on a journey with them.
um reserved ticket in the front row – sit front and center!
premium reserved ticket in rows 5 through 20
will go down into the record books, I have no doubt as being the most successful, moving and inspiring dance tour! With these special packages fans will walk away feeling appreciated truly having a once in a lifetime experience with Maks & Val.
This was my first time seeing Nick Carter in concert. I sadly wasn’t able to make the dates work when he was touring with Jordan Knight in the past. I really enjoyed watching Nick on Dancing with the Stars and since he was coming to Raleigh decided to check him out.
Suggestions for the Wonderful Union team: Do not make such an early arrival time if you are not planning to check people in for over an hour after that time. The extreme frustration I heard while waiting in line from several fans was that they arrived very early that day hoping for front row. They had it at sound check but, then with the photos happening after they lost their prime front spot. My suggestion would be give everyone numbered wrist bands or # the VIP laminates as they check in and that is the order they will line up for entry into the venue later that night as well. That makes it fair to those that waited in line extra early. It would also have allowed the VIP’s to leave for the 1.5-2 hours in between the experience with Nick and the door open time to go and grab a bite to eat without the pressure of having to stand in line. Also have security when the doors open enforce the line/numbered situation. It was truly not fair that about 25-30 waited in line the 1.5-2 hours and then had all of these other people from the back just start pushing in and cutting the line. Lastly, the photo equipment or distance for the photos needs to be improved. They did not come out very clear and crisp whether it was the original shot or zoomed in when you compare it to other VIP pictures.
Suggestions to the Ritz Venue: General admission shows can be tough. I think if you have a show though where there is an early entry VIP look into putting the metal barricades up or something to keep the VIP’s from being pushed, shoved etc. when the general public enters. I had 4 different people around me that were also VIP’s that got physically pushed out of their spots and they gave up and went upstairs.
I took two videos at the show, the links are below if you want to check them out:
Entering the VIP: In 2014 the experience was Okay, it was great to meet the dancers, and you got a group picture and then could do a selfie with the top package. I opted for a selfie with Val because he has always been one of my favorites since he first appeared on the show. You could also get a photo holding the mirror ball trophy. It was a very rushed experience overall and there was no party included. All the dancers were very kind and welcoming. 
Summer 2015 I did VIP again and it was a pretty similar experience as the prior one.
Now on to the good stuff! This time they had a pre-party so they had a video playing that was put together by the dancers about dance styles, how they prepare for tour, what happens backstage etc. In addition to the photo with four of the pros/celebrity they had two of the dance troupe/company dancers that would mingle at the party and stand at the green screen and take additional photos with those in attendance. This was great because it allowed you to meet the dancers and actually have some conversations and get to know them a bit. The value they added to their VIP this year did not go unnoticed. They also had one of the best VIP Staff members from VIP Nation on the tour: Kristin McLeod. She was so friendly at every interaction, she had photos posted in almost all cases within 24 hours, she truly understands what VIP Package purchasers want and really hit it out of the park every show.
Word is the Dancing with the Stars tour will be taking this summer off, but they will be back in the winter. I hope they keep the great package they did this time for the next tour.