With headliners such as Scottish post rock giants Mogwai, Bad Seeds affiliated German industrial outfit Einstürzende Neubauten (pictured) and Norwegian symphonic black metal pioneers Ulver, it’s little wonder Tasmania’s flagship Dark Mofo festival smashed all previous records in the first three hours of sales on Tuesday, with half of the festival’s overall box office target reached by early afternoon.
Records broken include more than doubling last year’s first day ticket sales (the previous record) and exceeding last year’s first day sales in the first three hours of this year’s sales.
Reports suggest long online queues for tickets on first day of sales with 4500 in the queue at noon (queue limit reached for a number of hours) and 500 in queue at 3.30pm. Many people were in virtual waiting room line for four hours to purchase tickets.
Perhaps most interestingly, and attesting to the reputation the festival now commands, the breakdown of first day sales includes 53% interstate/ international and 47% Tasmanian. Sold out shows include selected nights of Welcome Stranger and Red Bull Music Academy: Transliminal, Ulver & TSO: Messe IX-VI.X and Xiu Xiu performing The Music of Twin Peaks.
Other shows set to sell out soon include Ulver (solo performance) and Einsturzende Neubauten, with wait lists initiated for sold-out shows.
Dark Mofo’s second phase program announcement coming in one month, with the Welcome Stranger lineup announcement, Dark Mofo Films program, more music events at the Odeon, more Dark Park attractions, Winter Feast chefs and entertainment, and many free events and exhibitions. For a full list of the massive program head to www.darkmofo.net.au
Dark Mofo Creative Director Leigh Carmichael said, “We are staggered with the result of first days sales, achieving of over $1 million in box office in one day. [as a comparison we sold 570k box office in total across the entire festival in 2013.]
“The growth in demand is phenomenal. This is an incredibly exciting time to be in Tasmania, and the support for cultural events unprecedented. What a fantastic indicator for the vibrancy of the community that people are now getting out about in such high numbers in winter.
“Once again we had technical issues with our website, which moved slowly, and at one point had 4500 people in the queue. We apologise to our customers for what was an unpleasant experience, and something we are disappointed about. We will endeavour to pull out all stops to ensure the system is capable of handling the demand better in the future.
“Some shows are now sold out and many will in the next few weeks. 53% of sales are from interstate, which is lower than usual, but something we are pleased with as it shows locals are now buying tickets early. This festival is for created for Tasmanians to enjoy cultural activity in winter, so we are thrilled they are getting in early, and won’t miss out.”
The 5th annual Dark Mofo takes place from June 8 to June 21 in Hobart, Tasmania. Tickets from www.darkmofo.net.au
