Damn we were all saying right after the Turnpike Troubadours announced their comeback and tickets sold out immediately wherever they advertised shows Oklahoma boys could probably sell out arenas at this point or at least on certain markets. Well now it’s time to put that hypothesis to the test.
On Tuesday (6-21), the band announced they would be playing Oklahoma City’s cavernous Paycom Center on November 12 and bringing Blackberry Smoke and Morgan Wade for the party. This is where Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Kenny Chesney and George Strait play when they’re in town. This is not a glorified country house. This is the big moment.
Of course, this comes with some caveats. Oklahoma City is right in the heart of Turnpike Troubadours land. It’s unlikely they can make it in Seattle or Brooklyn. Turnpike will barely sell lecture halls on the East Coast later this year. In addition, Blackberry Smoke and Morgan Wade are not left out. They move quite a few tickets themselves these days.
But it will be an interesting test to see how far the Turnpike Troubadours appeal will go. In fact, that’s probably the whole point. With how the demand for tickets has far exceeded supply, if they fill an arena to capacity in Oklahoma, they may be able to do the same in Texas, Kansas City and Colorado. They have already sold out Red Rocks for days in a row.
And it’s not all smoke and mirrors. The Turnpike Troubadours are on fire right now, making some of the best performance of their career. And of course, playing in arenas comes at the expense of the privacy of smaller venues. But would you rather see them in an arena or not be able to see them in a smaller venue in Oklahoma because there are no tickets and there are $700 left in the secondary market?
It won’t be the first time the Turnpike Troubadours have played in a venue of this size. They played Rodeo Houston a few years ago, which was also held in an arena, and they also played a few other arena shows opening for… someone. But it’s their own gig, no piggy-backing off of anyone, or any other event.
In other exciting news from Turnpike Troubadours, Evan Felker will also appear on Dropkick Murphy’s new album This machine still kills fascists, which is a tribute to Oklahoman Woody Guthrie. Felker will appear on a song called “The Last One”. This project will be released on September 30. More info on this soon.
Meanwhile, pre-sale tickets for the Turnpike Troubadours at the Paycom Center will go up Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., with full sales beginning Friday, June 24.
