DF Concerts praises ‘phenomenal’ Gerry Cinnamon
DF Concerts’ promoter Dave Corbet says that Gerry Cinnamon is “rewriting the rules” after the Scottish singer-songwriter made history by playing to 100,000 fans over two nights at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.
The 50,000-cap shows, which were originally slated for 2020 pre-pandemic, sold out within hours back in 2019 and were finally able to take place from 16-17 July.
“The energy of the crowd across both shows was electric and they were with him every step of the way,” Corbet tells IQ. “It was one of the best stadium productions that I have ever seen and the sound was fantastic – there really is nothing like the Hampden roar.”
Staged by DF, the concerts saw Cinnamon crowned as both the first independent act and the first Scottish artist to sell out multiple nights at the national stadium. Support came from The Charlatans, Jake Bugg, The Snuts, Travis and Vistas.
“Gerry is an absolute force of nature and his success knows no limits,” says Corbet. “DF Concerts has worked with him since the very early days of being in bands on the Glasgow music scene, and there are so many factors which have contributed to his huge success which includes how fiercely independent he is.
“To see Gerry go from playing small pub shows at the start of his career to becoming the Scottish artist with the most tickets ever sold at Scotland’s national stadium is phenomenal”
“To see Gerry go from playing small pub shows at the start of his career to becoming the Scottish artist with the most tickets ever sold at Scotland’s national stadium Hampden is phenomenal and I can’t wait to see what comes next.”
The UK’s biggest independent artist, 37-year-old Cinnamon has built up a huge, organic following since self-releasing his 2017 debut album Erratic Cinematic and topped the UK charts with 2020 follow-up The Bonny.
“Gerry has never been one to conform and what keeps his fans coming to support him is how relatable he is,” adds Corbet. “He is rewriting the rules on how to be a successful artist and is a man of the people which resonates not only with the people of Scotland but with his fans around the world.”
Represented by CAA’s Andy Cook, Cinnamon has headlined a handful of outdoor gigs across the UK and Ireland this summer. He played a 25,000-cap gig at Swansea’s Singleton Park – the second biggest show ever held in the Welsh city – last month, along with sold-out Irish shows at the 25,000-cap Malahide Castle Dublin, and Musgrave Park Stadium, Cork.
He also played his third headline performance at Belsonic festival in Belfast’s 20,000-cap Ormeau Park, having already set the record in 2021 as the first artist to sell out two headline shows at the venue.
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1m tickets sold for Sheeran UK dates…but 10k cancelled
A remarkable one in 65 Britons are seeing Ed Sheeran’s 2018 stadium shows, with in excess of one million tickets having been sold since 8 July, promoters Kilimanjaro Live, DHP Family and AEG Presents have announced.
Sheeran’s third world tour, ÷ (Divide), returns to Europe next summer, with the British superstar playing four nights at Etihad Stadium (60,000-cap.) in Manchester from 24 to 27 May, three at Hampden Park (90,000-cap.) in Glasgow from 1 to 3 June, three at St James’ Park (~52,000-cap.) in Newcastle from 8 to 10 June, four at Wembley Stadium (90,000-cap.) in London from 14 to 17 June and four at Principality Stadium (74,500-cap.) in Cardiff from 21 to 14 June.
According to the promoters, more than 90% of tickets were bought at face value by Ed Sheeran fans, with just 10% finding their way into the hands of touts. The three warned buyers that tickets re-listed anywhere but on the official resale site, Twickets, would be “instantly” cancelled.
Sheeran is a vocal opponent of for-profit secondary ticketing, and his manager, Stuart Camp, has given evidence to a parliamentary hearing on ‘ticket abuse’.
Despite this warning, reads a joint statement from Kili, DHP and AEG, “it has has become clear that one such company, Viagogo, have ignored the promoters’ requests, and there is an increasing number of customers who are realising they have been duped by Viagogo’s false advertising and have unfortunately become victims of massive hidden overcharging for tickets. […]
“Up to 10,000 tickets have now been cancelled and are being returned back into the marketplace for individual fans to purchase at face value”
“The promoters have been monitoring the sales transactions in close conjunction with the National Trading Standards cyber crime team and have identified many multiple purchases which are in contravention of the terms and conditions for the sale of the Ed Sheeran tickets. As a result, up to 10,000 tickets have now been cancelled and are being returned back into the marketplace for individual fans to purchase at face value.”
The official primary ticket agencies for the UK tour are See Tickets and Ticketmaster.
In addition to cancelling the tickets, the promoters have reported all secondary ticket listings that violate the newly updated Consumer Rights Act – which requires a ‘unique ticket number’ to be displayed when a ticket is listed for resale – to the CMA to aid its ongoing investigation into suspected breaches of the law among ticket resale sites.
Any customers who are concerned they may have been “defrauded” by Viagogo have been directed to Claire Turnham’s ‘self-help guide’ for obtaining a refund, hosted on the FanFair Alliance website.
Sheeran’s next ÷ tour show is at the Videotron Centre (20,396-cap.) in Quebec tomorrow. An Asian leg kicks off in Taipei on 22 October.
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