Jack Johnson lives, works and surprises local school children in Hawaii, but he rarely performs there, so it was a big deal when he recently announced his first hometown show in more than two years.
More notable? The fact that tickets to the Aug. 1 performance will first be offered to Hawaii residents only. Purchases made on Saturday, May 10, will need to have a Hawaii billing ZIP code; purchases made on Sunday, May 11, won't have a geographic limitation.
While Johnson has been a proud and loyal Hawaii boy his whole life, the move is a clear response to the recent Bruno Mars ticket fiasco, which enraged many locals and even inspired legislative action.
Mars' April Honolulu shows sold out within two hours, and according to Ticketmaster, 42 percent of the concert tickets were purchased by people out of state. Desperate Hawaii residents were then left to deal with scalpers who were reportedly selling tickets back to Hawaii locals at a huge mark-up.
Johnson, whose tour is to promote his sixth studio album, “From Here To Now To You,” announced his North American dates back in January but just added the Hawaii show this week. According to promoter Matty Hazelgrove, he "really wanted to support Hawaii and the Hawaii community and to give them a first opportunity to buy a ticket."
Johnson may have gained some ground on Mars in the race of local boy done good, but they're both still behind the hometown hero, Barack Obama.
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