Jon Bon Jovi Nashville
Runaway Tours Trip
I was so excited to be back in one of my favorite cities this past weekend. It was great to see so many friends from around the world that I have met over the years through Bon Jovi events. Crazy it had been almost 5 months since the last time we were together.
This was my 19th 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 grouped by room, a great signed photo that I will treasure which looked like it was from last fall’s mini tour and a small zip up bag with the Runaway Tours logo on it.
The welcome party was a lot of fun and I noticed they definitely improved the food spread for this trip. The 1st night parties are always a lot of fun, everyone is so excited for the next day, gives you a good chance to meet new people and we dance/sing all night to Jovi music.
The next day we were on our own to explore the city. We went down and did some shopping and had lunch on Broadway and I purchased my first pair of cowboy boots. I couldn’t get over how comfortable they were. One personal wish of mine on the trips would be instead of or in addition to doing the 2nd night party, organize a tour of the city all together or in Nashville the Country Music Hall of Fame or something like that as a big group. That would allow more time to get to know people instead of just being off in your groups of friends and it would be better for new trip people to meet others.
We met up at meeting time to board the buses to the venue and of course everyone was excited as usual. I decided to dress down and be casual this time as it seems I am always in a dress. This time I wore a plaid shirt http://www.nordstrom.com/, jeans http://www.luckybrand.com/ and boots http://www.bootbarn.com/. It was quite cold and windy in Nashville that day and I was wishing I had my winter coat. We got there and all were told to line up. Problem was it was freezing & the wind was going right through you and we waited in that weather for a good 20-30 minutes. That is my one personal pet peeve as you will see in other posts. When you either buy a VIP Pkg or spend the kind of money you do for these special trips I wish we were not left out in harsh weather conditions whether it be extreme heat or cold.
Another small comment to make which is not the fault of Runaway tours is a small group of us arrived and were not sure where to go and we went up to stand near the wall outside to try to block some of the wind. This was at the Cannery Ballroom. I am not sure if he was the owner or maybe head bouncer, but he was beyond rude to a friend of mine. Instead of being considerate to the weather conditions he said either you go out there and wait by the fence or you will not be allowed in my establishment. My point on this is, these are new customers to your venue that paid a substantial amount of money to do this trip. He would have gotten a lot further with a comment like I am very sorry, I understand it is freezing outside but, if you can go line up we will get you inside as fast as possible. Kindness goes a long way.
Once we got into the venue the excitement really grew. This event included a special acoustic performance and Q&A with Jon Bon Jovi, Lorenza Ponce, Bobby Bandiera, Carl Gentry and one new musician that I didn’t catch his name. Jon was in such a good mood and it was great to have some new questions instead of the typical boxers or briefs type. Jon did let us know that the record is done and is currently being mixed and should be released in the fall. It looks like as of now the tour will start early next year! That was exciting news and for many a relief as it gives more time to save money to do the shows they want on the tour. There is seriously nothing like a Bon Jovi concert. The energy is palpable but, more on that in future blogs.
The set list was great and I included an image of it for you all. I love the version of Bad Name JBJ does at these events and Livin on a Prayer gave me goosebumps it was so amazing! I love hearing the ballads too. I have been lucky enough to hear one of my all-time favorites on a few trips (Never Say Goodbye), this trip we were treated with Superman and Blind Love. Just breathtakingly beautiful.
Video Link(s)
Snippet of songs from Nashville: https://youtu.be/Z0rG1CrEU50
Superman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ8-FHeGXdQ
Bad Name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt1cVUWnCeA
It’s My Life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygZsTjb-e7M
Destination Anywhere: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WI0bDki3IQ
Blind Love: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGVdqWZH8jM
Seat Next To You: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2YzBg9IyPY
When the performance ended we all line up for our pictures with JBJ. This is where I always tell friends or people that ask me to have the right expectations. This is a photo op not a meet and greet and they do go rather quickly. Every artist varies in the time you get with them in photo op. Jon is always so kind and I will admit this interaction made me smile and I am still smiling today. Usually the photos are posted in 3-5 days after a Runaway Trip. As soon as they get posted I will add it.
Once all the photos were done there was the after party at the venue. The food was very good that they had out this trip. We didn’t stay long at the after party but, it was pretty typical to past parties and the night before.
The next day we all sadly said until next time and flew home. I originally wasn’t going to go on this trip and I
changed my mind when I realized it was a good friend’s birthday and I wanted to be there to celebrate with her. I am very glad it worked out and I did attend. It was a one of those truly special trips that I will forever keep engrained in my memories.
Rob Fuzesi and his team truly did a great job on the Nashville trip.
They have two more trips currently on sale if you are interested http://www.runawaytours.com/
Don Henley in Dallas (April 30-May 2)
Florida Georgia Line & Jon Bon Jovi along with the iheart Country Festival in Austin (April 29-May 1)
JBJ in Dublin Ireland (July 21-23rd)
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 50 trips you get something like a meet and greet or x period of time with JBJ, at 100 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.
Until next time,
Xoxo
Heather
JBJ Nashville
This was my 3rd Dancing with the Stars tour and hands down the BEST one to date! The stage set up with fantastic, great music/dance selection and the cast was filled with not only great talent but, the kindest people.
I have been asked by several friends what were your favorite dances. That is just so hard to pick because they were all so good for different reasons. I think the ladies would all agree that the men of DWTS doing the Magic Mike dance to Pony was well let’s just say HOT, anyone else need a cold shower after? I took two videos if you want to check them out. This one I affectionately call Magic Val: 
The 2nd video I tried to capture more of the dancers, my seat was a tough angle. 
I have to say they keep you busy and by the end of the trip you will be more exhausted than you ever have been in your life. Donnie Wahlberg especially I am convinced never sleeps. The photo below is the oath Donnie has everyone do together at the sail away party.
One thing that became very obvious to me the in the first hours of being on the ship was the extreme selfie madness that was about to happen. It almost became this challenge. Can you get a selfie with each New Kid and it left you feeling like if you didn’t you were some sort of cruise failure. It truly took away from a lot of the theme nights in my opinion. It was also frustrating when you were waiting or wanting to get a selfie with a New Kid to see someone else that had already had 5 with them were trying to get in for another one. All you saw were cell phones in the air and it’s almost like those circling the various stages cared less about the performance of the guys and more about pushing their way into location to get a selfie. I ended up getting a selfie with 4 out of the 5. I never had an opportunity with Danny. Joe, I thought did something great, after one of his performances he said I will be sitting in X spot anyone that still needs a selfie with me line up and he sat there for an hour or more but, everyone got their selfie in a much more controlled environment.
The day we got off the ship and had the Grand Turk Pool Party was just ok. I thought it was a very short time period the guys were there interacting and just didn’t seem to be well organized. I am not sure what I was expecting as a first timer. I know they tried to deal with the selfie madness by doing pool games and the winning team got a selfie but, then other games were played and the winning team never received the selfie.
It was wild too on the last night to stay up and party and dance with Donnie all the way into port. Many of the other guys turned in at various points in the night. Jon and Donnie both kept it going all the way until the sun came up. It was quite the experience.
Tips for cruise virgins:
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.
Final Verdict: Overall, I recommend the Aerosmith VIP experience. It is a good value for your dollar, you get a great seat at the show, the picture, autographed photo and the usual merchandise etc. In 2015 they offered different VIP Packages which I thought was great, if you loved a different member of the band you could sign up for their event and each one was a little different.