Email this page
Print this pageNelly Concert in Branson: On the Scene
417 Magazine and Branson Vacation Magazine had a representative in the audience at the Nelly concert on Saturday night. She managed to speak with a few of the promoters and other players for the show, and shared some insight on the days leading up to the performance, as well as her thoughts on the show itself.
Well folks, it happened! Nelly—the show that many thought would never happen—went off without hitches on Saturday night. Despite a change of venue and some public opposition, the Mansion Theatre and local supporters seeking more entertainment diversity brought the saga to a satisfactory conclusion.
The show’s promoter, Paul Dunn, said about 2,800 fans saw Saturday night's concert—about 200 seats shy of a sell-out—though he told KSPR he will take a financial loss on the event, thanks to the venue change. The concert was originally supposed to take place at the Grand Palace, but city leaders rejected a planned outdoor concert because of noise and parking concerns.
Approximately One-third of the show tickets were sold prior to moving the venue from Grand Palace to the Mansion. Heleena Campbell, the manager at The Mansion, said two-thirds of the ticket sales took place during the last two weeks that the show was booked at the Mansion. “10 percent of the show tickets were bought the day of the show”, Campbell said. “We were selling tickets right up until 9:30 at night, which has never happened [in the past]. We completely sold out all of our VIP seating at $100 a ticket!” Campbell says she could not have been more pleased with the sales; she also said that security or safety fears were not an issue at any time during the show. A reliable source does say, however, that the Branson fired department did not allow any more tickets to be sold due to capacity concerns.
Dunn says he would like to bring more acts like Nelly to the Branson area, but says he'll wait until construction is finished on the Grand Palace before booking any more events. According to Dunn's Facebook page, Tim McGraw was the scheduled special guest for the Nelly concert, but backed out due to the controversy. Lenny Kravitz, Ludacris, and a Van Halen reunion tour are some of the events announced to soon be coming to Branson, including, possibly, Tim McGraw in January 2011
I spoke with Darin Coden, author of the Branson Missouri Blog. He stated that during a backstage interview with Paul Dunn's children, they said they had received threats and had to hire a bodyguard during the concert. Codon has been reporting on (and quite opinionated about) the whole Nelly saga over the last several weeks. To read more and get exclusive behind the scenes details of the Nelly concert you can visit Darin Coden's blog at Branson Missouri Blog: www.bransonmissouri.missourinetizen.com
As for me, I thoroughly enjoyed Nelly concert. Nelly was charismatic and had excellent stage presence. There were minimal props and not even background dancers—it was simply Nelly doing what Nelly does best! He sang some crowd favorites such as 'Hot in Herre” and “Must be the Money”, as well as the Tim McGraw duet “Over and Over” and his new hit “Just A Dream”, among many others! The opening acts left a lot to be desired in my opinion. I did ask Campbell specifically how the three opening acts were picked, and she replied the Dunn had arranged the opening acts as well.
Kim Fino
Were you at the Nelly show? What did you think? Would you go to another hip-hop show in Branson, or are you tired of the drama. Let us know in the comments, but keep it clean and nice.
Summer's Last Blast at Silver Dollar City
Reader Comments:
i was at the nelly concert. i thought it was great!! i hope nelly comes back to branson. =)
yeaaa! my mom wrote this article (: haha. good job mom
the show was horrible. Couldn't understand a word he said