Elton John will perform at the Garrett Coliseum in March and Eli Manning will also headline a charity event that same month. With such big-name celebrities in town, by now you might have thought both affairs would already be sold out...but neither are.
We caught Dianna Cousey who was on her way to the Kenny Rogers concert at the Montgomery Performing Arts Centre. She says although she'd like to see Elton in concert, she simply can't afford to.
"He puts on a wonderful concert," she says. "I've heard people say that. The tickets were pretty pricey so at this time I just couldn't afford to go."
And others say they haven't heard much about upcoming events and concerts. Marquis Webster says he wasn't even aware that Elton John was coming to town.
"They need to get more advertising, maybe commercials or getting something out over the internet," he says.
Allen Sanders manages the Montgomery Performing Arts Centre. He says Montgomery is lucky in that the city has the opportunity to catch acts traveling from Nashville to Atlanta. Although Sanders isn't familiar with events at other venues, he says business has been great at the Performing Arts Centre.
"We've got some sold out shows," he says. "Tonight's show [Kenny Rogers] is sold out. Little Big Town next week, that's sold out and we have Crobsy Stills and Nash in May that's headed to a sell out too."
Sanders says a show can sell out anywhere between 30 minutes and a few months but admits there are times when certain headliners don't fare so well in Montgomery. When that happenes, Sanders says he takes it as a lesson learned and shares that information with other venue managers across the country.
"We'll call each other and say 'hey, we're having an artist coming in and what is your past experience with them?'"
With the city's plans to revitalize Garrett Coliseum, some think it's up to residents here to do their part if they want big-name acts to continue to headline shows in Montgomery.
"The Garrett Coliseum has been long overlooked for far too long," says Elton John fan Ryan Dougherty. "I think a city investment in that is going to go a long way."
