To the editor:

As the latest improvement to Brown County, the Brown County Music center continues to exceed all expectations a cautionary note for those of us who would like to go. Last month, myself and several other Brown Countians stood in line to get Willie Nelson tickets. I am well aware that at age 80+ this might be his last concert tour.

So in subfreezing cold, I arrived and was about 40th in line. With a 4,000-seat venue, I calculated that Ticketmaster would get the lion’s share of tickets, while the rest of us would get the rest. Imagine my surprise when the crowd was told that out of the 4,000 tickets available, there would be only 200 sold in the ticket office. Needless to say, myself and several dozens of people were resigned to the fact that if we wanted to go to the concert, our cost would be three or four times face value of the actual ticket. A quick check of StubHub confirms this.

This is a wonderful venue that will put Brown County on the music map for years to come. It was marketed that this would be a hometown venue that residents could enjoy. We can enjoy the concerts, but still at ticket broker prices. I would have hoped that the venue would have made arraignments to hold a percentage of tickets for those who went to the box office and then release them to ticket vendors, but that is not going to be the case. Welcome to the 21st century of ticket buying.

Mark C. Medlyn, Helmsburg Road

Editor’s note: The music center has 2,000 seats.

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