Nothing screams holiday spirit like a Buckcherry/Avenged Sevenfold
tour. The hard rock co-headliners are extending their trek with a
second leg set to begin Jan. 28 in Albuquerque, N.M. Joining them
on the bill will be Papa Roach and Saving Abel.
The four-band bill is priced to sell, with tickets less than $40.
"The idea was to take four acts that could tour alone and put them
together for $40 or less to be able to let people hear
three-and-a-half hours of music and experience some up-and-coming
acts," says Allen Kovac, CEO of 10th Street Entertainment, which
manages Buckcherry and Papa Roach. "You're talking about a demo
that seems to be 15 to 25 [years old], and their disposable income
right now is a lot less than it was before."
Tickets go on sale Dec. 15, and the price tag will ensure they'll
be under the Christmas trees of many a headbanger.
Kovac points out that fans of these acts don't wait for warm
weather concerts. "We've found that rock is a 365-day sport in
secondaries, tertiaries and major markets," he says. "And when you
start getting into the tertiary markets, rock is still king."
Radio will be a key element in 10th Street's tour marketing, Kovac
says. "A lot of what we're doing is making sure we have different
bands on different formats," he says. "Saving Abel is focusing on
AC and pop, while Avenged works alternative and Buckcherry's
working active rock. And because Buckcherry has had some success
with hot AC and pop, we're using the new track to really make sure
that audience knows they're coming to town as well. Papa Roach will
focus on the alternative side. It's really a four-format tour; it's
not an active rock or alternative tour."
Buckcherry and Avenged could have asked for higher guarantees,
Kovac says, "but they wouldn't have been able to take these other
acts out with them. By taking these other bands out, they will more
than make up the loss in guarantees. And when you're doing 6,000-
to 10,000- [capacity venues] as opposed to 2,000, that tends to
make itself up in many, many areas."
