MusicScribe BLOG

Thanks to Clarke Beasley for getting back to me so quickly regarding NQC showcase pricing for 2008.

Clarke explained that there is a variety of options for purchasing showcase tickets in 2008, depending on how many days you attend and what you want to see. Here’s the breakdown.

1. A three-day package (your choice of Wednesday-Saturday) is $45.

2. A four-day package (Wednesday-Saturday) is $50.

3. Individually: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday are $15 each. Thursday (including the GVB/EH&SS showcase) is $20.

4. The afternoon showcases which had been free on Monday and Tuesday in 2007 will carry a ticket price of $10 per day or $15 for both in 2008. Clarke explained that a ticket is now necessary for these showcases because they’re adding a “full light and IMAG rig” (video).

5. If you’re attending the entire week, the total for showcase tickets will be $65 ($15 for Monday/Tuesday plus $50 for Wednesday-Saturday).

The locations for showcases during the week will be Freedom Hall (same as last year) and a new location in the combined East Halls A&B. This large room is located between 2006-07′s Exhibit Hall and the 2008 Exhibit Hall in the brand new North Wing. This move puts the two showcase locations closer together. If you want to see one showcase in Freedom Hall and another in the East Hall on the same day, you won’t have to hike nearly as far as you did in the past.

The East Hall also provides more seating and is square shaped as opposed to the long rectangular series of conference rooms used previously in the South Wing. If you happen to be attending a showcase at 4 PM in the East Hall, you should , in theory, be able to walk directly into the new Exhibit Hall when it’s over.

The East Hall was actually included in the same renovation that replaced the old Exhibit Hall. If you walked through the construction area in 2007 from Freedom Hall to the Exhibit Hall, you were passing through the East Hall after you rounded the turn and made your final approach to the 2007 Exhibit Hall.

I had endorsed this move for the showcases in a former blog post. I’m glad to see that NQC had similar thoughts and I’m glad to see them stepping up the quality of the showcase setting next year with the addition of lights and video.

I assume NQC still plans to offer free showcases of regional groups from 4-6 PM each day. (SEE UPDATE BELOW.) It will be interesting to see if fans balk at purchasing tickets for the Monday and Tuesday Artist Spotlight showcases, which generally run from around noon to 4 PM and have been offered for free in the past. I believe many will, but every dollar they add in ticket sales for the Monday/Tuesday showcases is one more dollar than they had in 2007. The question will boil down to whether or not the added sales are enough to offset the additional lighting and video equipment usage.

UPDATE (12/20): After viewing this blog entry, Clarke Beasley wrote to clarify that the free daily Regional Artist showcases will expand to four hours (noon-4 PM). The location will be in the South Wing. This will give fans three options for showcases on most afternoons.

GVB/EH&SS Set Durations

By the way, I also asked Clarke about set durations on Friday night for the Gaither Vocal Band and Ernie Haase & Signature Sound. Clarke indicated that the precise duration has not been determined yet, but he anticipates it being the same as the maximum set length for other top tier groups during the week. In the past, this has been at least 20 minutes each.

I can see the advantage of not upsetting other artists by giving these groups more time. When you look at relative popularity combined with the fact that these groups will only have one night during the week as opposed to two or three, though, I still think it would make practical sense to boost their times to as much as 40 minutes and let fans know about it in advance…ditto for Mark Lowry, who will appear along with LordSong only on Saturday night. (Lowry actually did have a 25-minute time slot on Friday in 2007.) In the end, it’s all about what will encourage the most ticket sales. For every one person that would be less inclined to be there on Friday if the GVB and EH&SS got more time, there will be four people who will be more inclined to buy a ticket if their primary reason for attending is to see those groups and they know they’ll have time for a good solid set of music…at least, that’s what I think.