By: David Pendered
For: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/30/07
The Dave Matthews Band and Allman Brothers Band have scheduled a benefit concert for up to 50,000 people Sept. 8 in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park to raise money for the park’s planned expansion, and organizers are hoping people will leave their cars at home.
The event will bring together one of the top 10 grossing acts in North America last year, with a decades-old Southern rock staple from Macon.
Between ticket sales and sponsorships, organizers hope to raise about $1 million for the nonprofit Piedmont Park Conservancy, said Debbie McCown, the organization’s president and CEO.
McCown said the concert aims to send an environmentally friendly message where attendees can learn what they can do to reduce pollution and preserve resources. And that includes ditching the car before heading to the concert.
“We’re calling this the ‘Green Concert,’ and we’d like to make it a car-less concert,” McCown said. “MARTA has two rail stations within walking distance of the park and will be providing shuttle service for the handicapped.”
Ticket sales begin Thursday for those who go to the Web page of the Piedmont Park Conservancy and sign up to receive the conservancy’s electronic newsletter. Viewers will get the password to purchase tickets online. These tickets will get the holders closer to the stage because they will be allowed to enter an hour before the gates are opened.
The address is www.piedmontpark.org.
Tickets will be available to the public June 9 from Ticketmaster.
General admission tickets are $45. A $250 VIP ticket will provide access to a tented area with food, beverages and restrooms, McCown said.
The Dave Matthews Band is a perennial powerhouse at the box office. According to the concert industry trade publication Pollstar, “DMB scored the 9th highest grossing North American tour in 2006, earning $51.3 million on 52 concerts.”
