 Willie Nelson returns to Boone for a performance at the Homes Convocation Center Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. Special to The Appalachian.
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by PATRICK BABCOCK
Lifestyles Reporter
Willie Nelson will rock Holmes Convocation Center Feb. 19 at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $22 and up, depending on location.
Nelson, a recipient of a 2000 Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement, will bring along the Texas swing nine-piece Asleep at the Wheel for backup.
“He’s
cross-generational, he’s a hero, he’s a movie star, he’s America,”
student programs manager Randy M. Kelly said. “His ‘Greatest Hits’ is
just something that everybody knows by heart.”
The day after the concert, Ski Beech Mountain is offering half off skiing with a ticket to the show.
Nelson has a history of quality concerts in Boone.
The biggest show ever in the town was a Nelson show at the football stadium 11 years ago. The concert brought 8,000 people.
“There’s
a lot of people that weren’t here back then, and if ever we could do a
Willie show before he quits touring, wouldn’t it be great to do in
Boone as a feel-good concert?” Kelly said. “It seemed like the right
thing to do.”
The show will be held in the Convocation Center instead of Kidd Brewer Stadium due to the time of year.
“It’s February. Last week it was 6 degrees… guitars don’t tune when it’s 6 degrees,” Kelly said.
Asleep at the Wheel is a national act in their own right.
“When
that big movement came out when there were big dance halls and
everybody wanted to dance to country music, they hit their heyday,”
Kelly said. “A lot of those halls still play their music.”
Asleep at the Wheel will play behind Nelson for the entirety of the show.
An average Willie Nelson concert brings 4,000 to 5,000 concert attendees.
The Convocation Center, with the stage set up as it will be, will hold 5,500 people.
This leaves tickets available to parents and non-students.
“You can’t afford to take a loss,” Kelly said. “Most colleges lose money on their shows. We don’t like to do that.”
With large national acts charging $400,000 to $500,000 a concert, tickets for several shows cost $90 to $100 each.
“We’re not going to do that to the students – it’s your money that buys these shows… that’s just not fair,” he said.
Tickets
for the Nelson concerts in Raleigh and Greensboro cost $40 to $60
apiece, so Appalachian State University wanted to bring a show where
4,000 people could pay a price they could afford to see a big name
concert, Kelly said.
The ticket price isn’t as important to Kelly as the name itself, however.
“I’m glad to have a hero,” he said.
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