Two of pop music’s biggest names announced a summer stop in central Pennsylvania in November 2015. Multi-platinum artists Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas scheduled their co-headlining Future Now Tour for Hersheypark Stadium on Saturday, July 16, 2016, at 7 p.m.
Tickets and prices
Tickets went on sale Saturday, November 7, 2015. Prices were set at $29.95, $49.95, $69.95 and $89.95, with processing fees applied and a limit of eight tickets per purchase.
Fans could buy tickets at the Giant Center Box Office, by phone at 717-534-3911 or 800-745-3000, or online through HersheyEntertainment.com and Ticketmaster.
Demi Lovato’s momentum
Lovato arrived on the tour riding a wave of success. Her album “Confident,” released on Hollywood Records, Island Records and Safehouse Records, featured the hit single “Cool for the Summer,” which reached No. 1 on iTunes.
She kicked off the album’s release with performances on “Saturday Night Live” that drew widespread attention and became the top worldwide trending topic on Twitter. By late 2015, she had grown from a Disney Channel star into one of the most prominent voices in pop.
Nick Jonas goes solo
Nick Jonas had established himself as a solo artist with his self-titled debut album on Island Records, released in November 2014. The critically praised record included the double-platinum single “Jealous,” which reached No. 1 on U.S. radio, and the follow-up single “Chains.”
In 2015 he teamed with West Coast rapper and producer Sage the Gemini on the summer collaboration “Good Thing,” and his single “Levels” quickly gathered more than 12 million views on YouTube while climbing the Billboard Hot 100. He had also wrapped up a sold-out North American tour and earned a 2015 American Music Award nomination for Favorite Male Artist in the pop and rock category.
How the ticket line worked
Hershey Entertainment used a wristband policy for the on-sale, a system designed to keep the line fair for fans who showed up in person. Fans were allowed onto the Hersheypark Entertainment Complex property beginning at 7 a.m. on November 7.
Two hours before tickets went on sale, fans were directed to the front of the Giant Center Box Office, where each received a numbered wristband. Wristbands were handed out for one hour. At the end of that hour, a fan randomly selected a wristband number, which set the order of the line.
For example, if 1,000 wristbands were issued and number 500 was drawn, the person wearing wristband 500 would be first in line. Numbers 501 through 1,000 would follow, then numbers 1 through 499. Fans who arrived after wristbands had been issued were escorted to the end of the numbered line.
The system meant that arriving at dawn did not guarantee a spot at the front, but it reduced the incentive for fans to camp out overnight.
Hershey as a concert destination
Hersheypark Stadium has long been one of the premier outdoor concert venues in Pennsylvania. Its location in the heart of Chocolatetown, near Hersheypark and the Giant Center, makes it a destination for fans from across the region, including Lancaster County.
For Lititz-area fans, the venue is an easy drive. Summer concerts at the stadium often turn into full-day outings, with time at the amusement park or a stop at Chocolate World before the show.
A summer to look forward to
With both artists at the height of their popularity, the Future Now Tour promised to be one of the summer’s biggest pop events. For fans in central Pennsylvania, the Hershey date offered a chance to see two stars on one stage without traveling to Philadelphia or New York.
For anyone hoping to be there, the advice was simple: mark the November on-sale date, know the wristband rules and be ready when tickets went live.