TicketNetwork Blog

In the concert world, April marks the beginnings of festival season, which lasts all summer long. Crossroads Guitar Festival is a great opportunity for music buffs to commemorate the fun summer of music ahead.

Meanwhile, in sports, the MLB seasons starts! April is also big for theater, and most of Broadway's plays will be opening this month — including (finally) Tom Hanks in his role as Mike McAlary.

While we may not be looking forward to the April showers, we're totally looking forward to the warmer weather, as well as these upcoming events in concerts, sports, and theater:

Concerts

Dave Matthews Band: Though the band toured frequently in the '90s, DMB hasn't toured since 2011. Now they're back with a tour that begins April 6 in Alabama; just a few weeks later, on April 28, they'll headline the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

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Beyonce: Beyonce last toured in 2009 following her I Am... album. Although the Mrs. Carter album has yet to be released, The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour kicks off April 24.

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Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival: After three years, the Crossroads Festival is back! This two-day festival is scheduled for April 12 and April 13 in New York, NY.

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Other Concerts in April:

• Fleetwood Mac begins April 4.
• The Postal Service begins April 9.
• Rush begins April 23.
• John Mayer begins April 25.
• Jimmy Buffett begins April 27.

Every year, one of the most popular events on TicketNetwork.com has been the family-friendly, high-octane, car-crushing Monster Jam Truck series, which hits countless stadiums and arenas across the U.S. annually. This year is no exception.

So far in 2013, Monster Jam has accounted for an incredible 33% of all tickets sold for sports events through TicketNetwork.com. That's more than NBA tickets sold, more than NHL tickets sold, more than MLB tickets sold. It's more than any other sport genre by a landslide. Which raises the question, what makes Monster Jam such a popular pick among our customers? Well, there are a few good reasons actually.

First, the are lots (LOTS) of Monster Jam shows scheduled. Events hosted in 79 different venues have sold through our marketplace, all of varying sizes. Two of the largest venues that will host events this year are Reliant Stadium and Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Those two stadiums, which are normally home to NFL football games, account for 20% of all the Monster Jam tickets sold on TicketNetwork.com in 2013. Many of the venues, both big and small, will be hosting multiple events, with more to be announced.

Second, Monster Jam tickets are selling for a much more affordable price than most other events. The average price per ticket sold through TicketNetwork.com is $44, exactly half of the $88 average price of all other sports event tickets. Plus, tickets for many of the Monster Jam shows, on average, cost far lower than $44, like those available for the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, SC, where tickets averaged just $17. The highest average? MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ, home of the New York Giants and Jets, which will host Monster Jam on June 15. So far that show has had an average ticket price of $89.

Another reason why Monster Jam sells so much? Monster Jam is great family event that most people will be entertained by. I mean, who wouldn't like to watch huge monster trucks flying through the air, crushing other cars in its way?

All ticket data is from 2 p.m. on 3/5/2013. Ticket prices are subject to change.

In sports, there is nothing quite like a last second victory. That is unless you are the losing team. In the video below, you will see perhaps the greatest buzzer beater ever; at least, in this humble sports fan's opinion it is. The game pictured below is for the New York State Section 1 Class AA championship, making the shot all that more impressive. All I can say is congrats to New Rochelle High for winning, and I'm so, so sorry to Mount Vernon for having to live on the losing side of this game for all eternity.

The following is a guest post from Eric Halberg of SatelliteTV.net.

If you are a relatively new fan of soccer, here is the lowdown on the hottest properties in the sport at the moment. David Beckham has made a massive contribution to increasing the global appeal of the game and that includes U.S.A., where audiences continue to grow watching teams like LA Galaxy perform. But Beckham is now becoming more of an ambassador than a top player, so here are some of the talented players you can currently enjoy watching.

Lionel Messi

There is always lively debate when it comes to saying who's the best player in the world right now, but for once, most soccer fans are prepared to put personal rivalry to one side and agree that the diminutive 25-year-old Argentinian, who currently plays for Spanish giants Barcelona, is almost a class apart. He is quite simply a little magician when he gets on the ball. Any true soccer fan can’t help being mesmerized by his dazzling ball skills and his phenomenal strike rate for scoring goals, even if it is against the team that you support! He is probably the best soccer player to walk the planet since the iconic Pele graced the world stage. Period.

With game day just around the corner, we’ve been wondering what types of superstitions sports aficionados participate in. Our team talked briefly about it last week, and one of us admitted that we had to watch one game from the corner of our bed, because if we moved, our team would lose. (I won’t name names…)

My uncle has a particular pair of socks that he needs to wear whenever he wants his team, the Rams, to win, while my dad has to shut off the game if his team (Patriots) is losing so they can turn it around.

And even athletes themselves have superstitious traditions. Before each game, tennis player Serena Williams has to tie her shoes in a very specific way, then bounce the ball five times before her first serve, twice before her second. She also wears the same socks during a tournament run. Tiger Woods always wears red during his final rounds. Colorado Rockie Jason Giambi was known for wearing a golden thong when his game performance hit a slump.

Here are a few other quirky sports-related superstitions: