Scotty McCreery and Skillet shows lead comeback year for Corn Palace Festival entertainment in 2024 – Mitchell Republic

MITCHELL – A year after setbacks in entertainment bookings, the Corn Palace Festival concerts are back on track for 2024.

Country artist Scotty McCreery and rock band Skillet each delivered strong performances during their performances on Thursday, August 22 and Saturday, August 24, respectively. Corn Palace Director Doug Greenway was pleased with the attendance and the community's response to the performances.

According to Greenway, 2,237 tickets were sold for McCreery's show, with a total attendance of 2,532 fans. Skillet was able to purchase 1,512 tickets and reached a total attendance of 1,800, which Greenway said exceeded the venue's goal.

“I think the shows sounded great,” said Greenway. “We sold out 2,750 people. We were a little less than that for Scotty McCreery, but we had over 2,600 people in the building if you count our workers and volunteers. There were a few issues with a few lines, but overall it was a great experience.”

Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson was one of those who promoted ticket sales online ahead of the concert dates and was thrilled with the turnout and response.

“I think these will be the best and highest-grossing concerts we've ever had,” said the mayor, who took office in July. “It was great, as far as I saw, no one complained about the seats or the acoustics. And I think that's because people just had fun. … We made a profit on both. It's great for a city to make money on a concert and not lose money.”

Greenway said the program for the 2025 concerts will be an issue for the Corn Palace Entertainment Board, which books the entertainment. Pepper Entertainment is the promoter and producer of the concerts, and Greenway said organizers are working to figure out who is available for next year's dates.

“We will work to sign someone as soon as possible,” he said.

It comes in 2023, when no festival concert sold more than 1,100 tickets because the Corn Palace board could not agree on which acts to book and no shows were scheduled until June, prompting former Mayor Bob Everson to criticize the board's inaction.

Especially McCreery was one of the acts that the Corn Palace Entertainment Board could not agree on for 2023. When they were given another chance for 2024, the board did not pass it up.

“In Sioux Falls, 2,500 or 2,600 people is a drop in the bucket,” Greenway said. “For us, it's a good show. And we're working hard for next year, they have our dates.”

Photos by Caleb Gebhard about the Corn Palace

Greenway noted that the Corn Palace has also made improvements in the back-of-house area for this year's shows. Trailers are available for artists and bands to hang out in before shows begin. Otherwise, the building doesn't have a proper green room like many concert halls, and musicians must use the building's dressing rooms. He said attendance at McCreery's show also benefited from it being on a Thursday night and not clashing with Friday high school football.

“We haven't received any complaints, but we want it to be a good experience for them in Mitchell,” Greenway said. “We want to treat the artists well and give them a good experience.”

Hanson praised the Corn Palace board for its efforts in booking the shows and preparing the arena for the large crowds. Hanson said he has also discussed future concerts with Pepper promoters and said he would like to see five to eight concerts a year at the Corn Palace in addition to the festival shows, to which Hanson said they are “completely in agreement.”

Hanson said more than 60% of the Skillet show's attendees came from outside Mitchell, while that percentage was about 45% for the Scotty McCreery show.

“We want to make the Corn Palace a stop on tours, we want to be featured on some tour T-shirts,” Hanson said. “I want the Corn Palace to be a destination for concerts.”

It was also a successful year for Goldstar Amusements' rides, Greenway said. Total revenue for the five-day carnival was $50,237, the highest in at least five years, he said. That was despite a hot Sunday when temperatures soared to 91 degrees and the heat index reached 107 degrees. Greenway said the hot weather kept Sunday's attendance at just half of what it was the weekend before.

In terms of sheer attendance, no festival records were set in 2024. Other recent concerts at the Corn Palace have drawn larger crowds, although seating arrangements have changed over the years. In 2005, Big and Rich drew 3,200, and in 2011, country stars Josh Turner and The Band Perry played to a sold-out crowd of 3,018, and former Disney Channel actor/singer Raven-Symoné played to 2,937 paying attendees in 2006. Country legend Willie Nelson drew 2,806 in 2003 and 2,078 at his last concert at the Palace in 2013. LeeAnn Rimes (2,700) and Trace Adkins (2,600) were strong crowd-drawers in 2006, as was Brad Paisley in 2004 (2,500).

In 1992, former Lawrence Welk Band accordionist and South Dakota native Myron Floren drew 6,621 people to the Corn Palace to honor Welk, who had died that same year. It was believed to be the largest attendance for a single show in the Corn Palace's history.

Marcus Traxler is the Mitchell Republic's deputy editor and sports editor. He has already won the state's Outstanding Young Journalist Award and the 2023 South Dakota Sportswriter of the Year. He has worked for the newspaper since 2014 and covers a wide variety of topics. Traxler is a Minnesota native and can be reached at [email protected].