Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - With Tuesday's announcement of country music star Luke Combs performing two consecutive shows at Highmark Stadium in April, excitement is quickly percolating amongst Western New York country music fans, eager to get their hands on tickets.
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"I mean, it's huge. You can't get much bigger than Luke Combs right now," says Liz Mantel, Host of "Mantel in the Morning" on Buffalo's country music station, The Wolf.
"The fact that he's coming to Highmark not once, but twice, shows the demand. It's going to be pulling in a lot of people from around the area. I was getting texts from friends going, 'Okay, When are you guys giving tickets away?' Super excited, it's gonna be two fantastic nights."
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You can say it's unprecedented to see any pop or country star sell out Highmark Stadium on consecutive nights, let alone in the month of April, but Mantel predicts that's exactly what's going to happen.
"In Western New York, country is huge. You look at the makeup of Western New York and yes, we have a lot of rural areas, but that doesn't necessarily mean that those are only where the country fans are. You can walk down Elmwood [Village] and you're going to see country fans. I think that we're going to pull [fans] from a lot of different places. I think it'll have no problem selling out. In fact, when the pre-sale registration started, just get the code to get a presale, there was a wait to get registered, so I think you'll have no problem selling out both nights."
Former concert promoter Don Tomasulo is skeptical the show will sell out, as he doesn't recall concert events happening like this at the Bills Stadium in April, as the weather is not always optimal. However, time will tell as to whether or not the concerts will sell out.
"I'm amazed that they would book two nights in a row. I hope it does great. I hope it sells out. If you ask me, they're going to be hard pressed to sell [out] one [night], especially in April, when the weather's not the greatest. It's really difficult to sell two [nights], that's a lot of tickets."
Tomasulo recalls shows that have sold out in Western New York, like when the Jacksons came to Buffalo in the 80s. It didn't sell out easily. Weather plays a factor too, he says. He believes that with the rise of popularity of country music and the prices that people are willing to pay, no matter the cost, are some differentiating factors that will continue to generate more sold-out shows in this new era of stadium concerts.
"Country radio has been so supportive, it's the best new music that's out there. There's no new rock and roll hardly, there's alternative bands, there's dance bands. But as the world changes, all the Luke Combs of the world to me, are just rock and roll acts playing under country. The top country acts are great rock and roll performers. They all sound unique, just like the old rock and roll used to. It's always amazing to me who catches on, who catches fire and you know who people will really go to see. Luke Combs is hot right now. I think the new country acts are great and that's why people are flocking to see us."
Mantel notes a lot of new country music artists have influences that go well beyond the country genre and oftentimes do covers of classic tunes and feature artists that aren't necessarily classified as country singers.
"I think what's happening is, a lot of these artists that are up and coming now, they're the type of people that listen to more than just country music. So they took their influences from lots of different artists. You're starting to see country music, just like it always has, started to make a shift. It's just pulling in more people who like to listen to more than one type of genre. It also helps that they're doing collabs with different artists and different genres. I mean, right now, Luke Combs has one of the top songs in the country, and it's a cover of Tracy Chapman. You're seeing a lot of crossover these days, but it's nothing that hasn't happened before. I think it's a cyclical thing."
It also helps to have a loyal fanbase, who enjoy following the careers of their favorite country artists.
"I just think that the really cool thing about country music is fans are loyal, right? They stick by the people they love, and they will follow them from the start of their career to the end. So I think I think you're always going to have artists that get really big and can sell out stadiums," said Mantel.