Speculating the Walmart Shareholders music for 2012
May 14th, 2012 at 8:03 am
I’m picking up good vibes about the potential Walmart Shareholders’ roster I just compiled. Above, The Beach Boys play “Good Vibrations.” Are they coming to Fayetteville? Maybe. Maybe not.
More than one person has asked me who is playing at the upcoming Walmart Shareholders’ meeting, which takes place June 1 at Bud Walton Arena on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.
The answer? I don’t know, but I have some ideas.
Walmart’s trend is to bring in artists who have ties to the world’s largest retailer, often as exclusive CD deals or other partnerships. Generally speaking, Walmart brings in several performers for their actual meeting and several more during the week preceding the meeting, which is closed to the public. While you won’t be able to waltz into the Shareholders’ meeting, Walmart has in the past several years allowed the public into the precursors to the actual event, usually on the Tuesday and Wednesday (in this case, May 29-30) before Shareholders.
They always bring in big names, too — last year’s roster for the public included Lady Antebellum and Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band.
Here are some prime suspects for 2012, although it’s hard to say which ones might perform before for the public and which will be inside the confines of the Shareholders’ meeting.
• Hank Williams Jr. — Sure, he was just in Fayetteville a few weeks ago, but Walmart primarily books for the national an international crowd, not for us. Plus, he has an exclusive Walmart CD.
• Aerosmith — I made this prediction a couple years ago, too. Walmart has pretty close ties to the ‘American Idol‘ franchise, and with Steven Tyler judging that competition it seems natural that the band might want a tune up before it goes on tour with Cheap Trick a couple weeks after the Walmart dates.
• The ‘Idol’ winner — Every year, Walmart brings in the winner of ‘American Idol’ and there is no reason to think they won’t this year. The competition ends just before the Shareholders’ event, making the timing perfect.
• The Band Perry — Walmart loves country music (previous Shareholder guests include Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and more) and The Band Perry just formed a new anti-hunger campaign with the retailer.
• The Beach Boys — We can dream big, right? Because, remember, money is of no concern to Walmart. As it happens, the Beach Boys are releasing a new album and going on tour. And, wouldn’t you know it? They have an exclusive album, too. However, it should be noted their schedule looks pretty busy on those dates, although Walmart has flown performers in quickly before.
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Ticketmaster has listed the concerts as the following: Carrie Underwood & special guest on Tuesday May 29th at 7:00 PM and Aerosmith & Cheap Trick on Wednesday May 30th at 7:00 PM. I searched Ticketmaster on Saturday and they said tickets went “on sale” on Sunday May 13th at 8:00 PM. The concert is already showing as sold out on Ticketmaster. I’m not sure if tickets are required for admittance. In the past these shows have always been priority seating for shareholders & Wal-Mart employees but were open to the public after the priority seating had gained entry. Is this something new that Wal-Mart is doing to keep the riff raff out and only allow employees and shareholders in? I certainly hope the show isn’t really sold out.