Black Keys Respond After Third-Party Ticket Buyers Denied Entry to Fan Club Show

Hundreds of fans who purchased tickets for the Black Keys’ fan club-only concert at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Thursday were barred from entering the venue due to the gig’s ticket policy.

The Los Angeles Times reported that fans spent upwards of 800-percent over ticket price on third-party sites like StubHub and Seatgeek for tickets to the “Let’s Rock” tour warm-up gig, only to be prevented from entering the venue, even if their tickets were legitimate and not counterfeit.

In a statement, the Black Keys defended the ticket policy. “Last night’s concert tickets were $25 and geared toward the fan club,” the duo said. “This was our first show in over four years and the kickoff of the Let’s Rock Tour. Because we were playing a venue far smaller than the rest of the venues on the tour as a warmup show, we turned off ticket transferability to ensure that our fans got in the door at the low ticket prices we set for them.”

However, fans that purchased tickets on the third-party sites expressed disappointment that they were not told beforehand that their tickets would not be accepted; Ticketmaster instituted a rotating barcode for tickets to the show, meaning that only tickets via their app would be accepted, while barcodes printed via third-party sites would no longer allow for admittance.

We were turned away. Apparently the rotating ticket policy was put into effect 40 min. Before showtime. And people were being treated like garbage by the staff. pic.twitter.com/33QRcpWcbS

— Sherry Sabety (@SSabety) September 20, 2019

“The presenters of the concert directed that these tickets be made available only to fans and that they be strictly nontransferable,” Ticketmaster said in a statement of the situation.

“This was messaged from the beginning with the announcement of the performance and throughout the sales process. Unfortunately, bad actors took advantage of this situation and posted screen shots of tickets that were not valid for entry onto the secondary market. We always recommend purchasing tickets from the official source.”

The Los Angeles Times noted that three of the third-party vendors – SeatGeek, StubHub and Vivid Seats – pledged to refund the consumers who purchased tickets to the Black Keys’ Los Angeles gig through them.

The Black Keys’ tour will kick off this weekend at Las Vegas’ Life Is Beautiful Festival.