StubHub just announced "America's 20 Most Rockin' Cities of 2008," and Dallas came in at a somewhat respectable tenth place, edging out Atlanta and Las Vegas but slipping three spaces from last year's No. 7. But come on, StubHub, you're telling me that Hartford and Richmond are more rockin' than the Big D?
Apparently so, at least according to the methodology used by the Internet ticket resale site. According to the press relase, "Summer concerts in these cities have been the most active sellers on StubHub with rankings based on total sales for concert events only, occurring between May 15th and September 15th. StubHub has also included the three best selling shows in each city for additional perspective."
So it looks like this is more an indication of StubHub's best customers than anything else. I'm awaiting a call from a StubHub spokesman to clarify which, if any, Dallas suburbs they included, and why they announced the winners more than a month before the September 15 cut-off date.
The top three are not too surprising: New York, Boston (where they loves them some Kenny Chesney) and Los Angeles. Cleveland, which didn't even make the list last year, just barely rocks at No. 20. Dallas' top three shows were Radiohead on May 18, the upcoming Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers show August 27 and the Jonas Brothers on July 9. The full list, with last year's ranking and three top-selling acts for each city, is after the jump.-Jesse Hughey
Update: Sean Pate, StubHub's head of corporate communications, says that not only were Dallas' suburbs included in the "Dallas" listing but Fort Worth as well. As for the early announcement, Pate says the company feels secure in evaluating what is happening with ticket sales that far in advance. "There may be a big rush on tickets at the end of the month, say for the Tom Petty concert, but that could also happen with concerts in the other cities," he points out.
America's 20 Most Rockin' Cities: 2008 City Rank (2007 Rank) Top Selling Shows: 1. New York (1) Billy Joel 7/18, 7/16, Bruce Springsteen 7/31 2. Boston (4) Kenny Chesney 7/26, Bruce Springsteen 8/2, Neil Diamond 8/23 3. Los Angeles (2) Radiohead 8/24, 8/25, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers 6/25 4. Philadelphia (5) Kenny Chesney 7/19, Jimmy Buffett 6/14, Coldplay 7/25 5. Chicago (3) Kenny Chesney 6/21, Coldplay 7/23, Jimmy Buffett 7/26 6. SFBay Area (6) Kenny Chesney 6/8, Coldplay 7/18, The Police 7/14 7. Hartford (10) Dave Matthews Band 6/14, Coldplay 8/2, Billy Joel 5/31 8. Detroit (9) Kenny Chesney 8/2, Jimmy Buffett 6/10, Bon Jovi 7/7 9. Richmond (17) Jimmy Buffett 8/30, Dave Matthews Band 6/28, Jonas Brothers 8/18 10. Dallas (7) Radiohead 5/18, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 8/27, Jonas Brothers 7/9 11. Atlanta (12) Jimmy Buffett 6/5, Kenny Chesney 7/13, Eagles 5/17 12. Las Vegas (8) Coldplay 7/19, Kenny Chesney 6/6, The Police 5/23 13. Indianapolis (N/A) Kenny Chesney 9/13, Jimmy Buffett 7/29, Dave Matthews Band 7/26 14. Atlantic City (19) Jimmy Buffett 8/24, American Idols Live 8/2, Killers 8/1 15. Seattle (16) Dave Matthews Band 8/30, Radiohead 8/20, Dave Matthews Band 8/31 16. Denver (13) Jack Johnson 8/17, Rush 6/25, Jonas Brothers 7/19 17. Houston (18) Radiohead 5/17, Kenny Chesney 8/16, Dave Matthews Band 8/15 18. Washington, D.C. (15) Coldplay 8/3, Eagles 7/26, Pearl Jam 6/22 19. Miami (11) Dave Matthews Band 7/12, Pearl Jam 6/11, Dave Matthews Band 7/11 20. Cleveland (N/A) Kenny Chesney 5/24, Radiohead 8/4, Jonas Brothers 8/22
*Data based on sales through StubHub as of 8/07/08