Popular folk-pop musician Jack Johnson will perform Aug. 1 at the Waikiki Shell, his first hometown performance in two years.
Tickets will be available online and at the Blaisdell box office to Hawaii residents first beginning May 10, according to a news release from Johnson’s management team. Credit cards will need to have a Hawaii ZIP code in order to purchase tickets. The restriction will be removed the following day. There is a four-ticket limit.
Tickets are $64.50 for the standing-room-only pit in front of the stage as well as the seats behind the pit and $39.50 for the lawn, said promoter Matty Hazelgrove of Bamp Project.
Johnson, who lives on Oahu’s North Shore, specifically wanted to give Hawaii fans a shot at tickets first, Hazelgrove said.
"They really wanted to support Hawaii and the Hawaii community and to give them a first opportunity to buy a ticket," he said.
Access to tickets for big acts with Hawaii connections became a hot topic among local concertgoers when they had trouble buying tickets in February for three concerts by superstar Bruno Mars. The Blaisdell Arena concerts sold out within two hours, and Ticketmaster records later showed that nearly half of the tickets were purchased by people outside of Hawaii.
By checking credit card ZIP codes, Ticketmaster found that 42 percent of the 17,000 tickets snapped up were purchased by people on the mainland and in Canada. The remaining 58 percent were bought by fans with Hawaii ZIP codes.
The Aug. 1 concert will be the first time the Hawaii-born Johnson has performed at the Waikiki Shell in four years. The appearance is part of Johnson’s From Here to Now to You Tour, promoting his sixth studio album, "From Here to Now to You."
Proceeds from Johnson’s concert will benefit his Kokua Hawaii Foundation, a nonprofit organization to support environmental education in Hawaii. The foundation seeks to foster an appreciation for environmental stewardship, especially among schoolchildren.
