Alternative rock band The Killers typically headlines arenas. On Friday, the band closes the main stage at the 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
In July, the Killers are booked for six nights at the 20,000-capacity O2 arena in London.
So when AEG, the co-producer of Jazz Fest, announced Monday morning that the Killers would play a warm-up show at the 800-capacity Tipitina's the night before the band's Jazz Fest date, demand was expected to be high.
It was.
Tickets went on sale Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster and Ticketweb, priced at $95 plus fees.
By 10:01, they were gone.
Some tickets were reportedly reserved for members of the band's fan club. Between the fan club and the general public, thousands of people tried to buy the tickets.
Only a few hundred succeeded.
It's unlikely tickets will turn up on the secondary market because of how these tickets will be distributed.
There are no e-tickets or physical tickets that can be printed in advance. Buyers must pick up tickets at the Tipitina's will call the night of the show.
The Killers most recently performed in New Orleans at the 2017 Voodoo Music Experience in City Park.
Typically bands who are headlining Jazz Fest cannot play another show in the same market around festival time.
But the Killers apparently wanted to play a warm-up show in a (much) smaller venue than they normally play, and were granted a special dispensation by the festival.
Way more people wanted to see them play that show than Tipitina's could accommodate.