Fans shut out of Kacey Musgraves’ Gruene Hall shows, which sold out instantly, flooded social media with complaints this week, accusing bots and scalpers of snatching up seats within minutes. But the Texas ticketing company behind the sale is setting the record straight.
Musgraves announced three intimate shows at the historic New Braunfels dance hall for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, May 3-5, coinciding with the release of her new album, Middle of Nowhere. With tickets priced at $65 for one of the most coveted small-room runs in Texas this year, demand surged the moment they went on sale Tuesday morning.
Many fans reported long waits in online queues, only to find tickets gone before they could check out. Soon after, resale listings surfaced online for several hundred dollars, in some cases more than $700, fueling anger from fans who believed automated bots and professional scalpers had taken over the sale.
Now, Prekindle, the Texas-based platform used to sell tickets to Musgraves’ upcoming shows at Gruene Hall, is responding to the matter.
“We understand how disappointing it is for fans who were unable to secure tickets to Kacey Musgraves’ upcoming shows at Gruene Hall,” J.R. Denson, co-founder and CEO of Prekindle, said in a statement to MySA.
According to Denson, the issue was less about foul play and more about overwhelming demand for a tiny venue hosting a global star: “Demand for these performances was extraordinary, with tens of thousands of people attempting to purchase tickets for a very limited number of available seats across the three-night run.”
Gruene Hall, widely considered the oldest dance hall in Texas, holds only a fraction of the audience Musgraves typically draws on tour. Denson called seeing an artist of her stature in such an intimate venue “a rare opportunity.”
“Gruene Hall is one of the most legendary venues in the world, and seeing an artist of Kacey’s caliber in such an intimate setting is a rare opportunity. Unfortunately, the reality of an underplay like this is that far more fans want to attend than the room can accommodate,” Denson said.
He also directly addressed accusations that bots dominated the sale, saying such claims are “not accurate,” alleging that Prekindle had “extensive safeguards in place throughout the onsale, and our technology stopped thousands of bot attempts from entering the checkout process.” He added that seeing tickets appear on resale sites does not automatically mean bots were successful, noting that ticket resale remains legal and prices on secondary marketplaces are not capped.
“Based on the data available to us, real Kacey Musgraves fans successfully purchased tickets for these shows,” Denson said.
Even with those assurances, frustration remains high among fans who never had a chance to buy face-value seats. Prekindle acknowledged that reality in its statement, saying, “We know many fans are frustrated, and we understand why. When demand is this high and capacity is this limited, many people will inevitably walk away disappointed.”