J Cole $1 Concert Almost Causes Riot in Dallas
J Cole announced he would hold a $1 concert through a Twitter post at 5:03 p.m. today. Once fans discovered the location, they gathered at The House of Blues in Dallas shortly afterwards. This may not have been the brightest move on J Cole’s part. It’s not because he isn’t a big draw. It’s because J Cole is so big of a draw that his announcement almost caused a riot.
Many fans left the scene upset, as the $1 J Cole tickets naturally sold out quickly. Police arrived with no prior notice of the performance. There was some fighting and jumping on cars by frantic fans. People were anxious to see the North Carolina rapper, but some were just anxious to see a $1 show.
J Cole’s tweet recirculated through Twitter over 6,000 times. The venue only has a capacity of 1,600, so it obviously was not the best location to announce a pop-up concert.
Rebecca Johnson told ABC what the scene looked like.
“Some people were passing out. A lot of people from the back just started pushing. They just got really anxious about the concert. Nobody’s leaving because everybody wants to get in.”
Dollar and A Dream Dallas. House of Blues. 2200 N Lamar St. $1. Be safe
— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 21, 2015
Fans knew J Cole was coming, they just didn’t know where he’d be. Mitchell Parker told NBC what caused the sudden onslaught of ticket seekers.
“He held the location up until 4 p.m. today, so everyone was just kind of running around Dallas not knowing where it was. And so when he dropped it, everyone just stormed here.”
Dallas is the first of four location on J Cole’s annual Dollar And A Dream Tour. But the venue for the $1 shows aren’t revealed until hours before the performance. This tour comes in the middle of dates for his regular tour, The Forest Hills Drive Tour. The difference is in the material he’ll be performing. On the four dates of Dollar And A Dream, one each in Dallas, New York City, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, J Cole will solely be performing music off his 2010 Friday Night Lights mixtape, as opposed to the larger tour that promotes his latest studio album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive.
There’s nothing like a pop-up concert to promote a project. I remember seeing a pop-up concert at an outdoor location in NYC. That had to be one of the funnest musical experiences ever. I do hope more artists do these types of things. But if you have a large fanbase like J Cole, get a large venue. Otherwise, don’t tell too many people about it.
All wristbands sold out for Dallas tonight. To those that didn’t get in, see you later this summer. Peace
— J. Cole (@JColeNC) June 21, 2015
[Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images for ESPN]
