The First Coast might not come to mind as one of the nation’s top music meccas, but a new report hints at why big acts often book stops in Jacksonville or St. Augustine.
Pollstar, a concert industry trade publication, released its top 50 mid-year worldwide ticket sales report for amphitheatre venues. The Amp in St. Augustine and Daily’s Place in Jacksonville both made the top 15.
The Amp was ranked No. 3 in the world with $3,357,823 in ticket sales, and Daily’s Place was ranked No. 15 with $2,233,010 in ticket sales.
That works out to 74,226 tickets sold at The Amp and 22,719 tickets sold at Daily’s Place.
To put that in perspective, the venues beat out amphitheatres like the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Bayfront Park Amphitheater in Miami.
“A ranking this high is a crowning achievement not possible without the incredible artists who perform on our stage, our promoter partners, volunteers, and the loyal concert fans that travel from near and far to see their favorite acts play in one of the most beautiful settings in the world. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this incredible accomplishment,” said Gabriel Pellicer, The Amp's interim general manager, in an email to WJCT News.
Daily’s Place opened in May of 2017 next to TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville with seating for 5,500, while The Amp was built in 1965 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine. It recently rebranded from the St. Augustine Amphitheatre.
The Amp started out with just 2,000 seats. Today it has a capacity of 4,700, according to the St. Johns County Board of Commissioners.
Both venues have managed to consistently attract major acts. Amp spokeswoman Dianya Markovits said the arrival of Daily's Place has been a case of a "rising tide lifts all ships."
"When Daily's place came along, they included a couple hundred [more] extra seats than us. So that gave them a little bit of a competitive edge. But we still felt that's great. If you're going to attract even bigger artists, you're going to keep our name - Northeast Florida, Jacksonville and St. Augustine - on the minds of tours of managers and agents.," said said.
Markovits feels a big reason for The Amp's success is hospitality. "We're in a beautiful part of the United States," she said, adding, "we have a really healthy and thriving music community and industry in Northeast Florida."
Among the upcoming shows at the two venues:
The Amp: Widespread Panic, Kacey Musgraves, ZZ Top, Bill Currington, Vampire Weekend and Elvis Costello.
Daily’s Place: Train and the Goo Goo Dolls (Tuesday night), Mary J. Blige, Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley and Pentatonix.
Since Shad Khan purchased the Jacksonville Jaguars, stadium shows have also made a comeback in Jacksonville. The Rolling Stones are set to perform at TIAA Bank Field on July 19.
Additional Information: Pollstar top 50 worldwide ticket sales mid-year report for amphitheatres
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.