In an effort to encourage his community to get vaccinated, a Florida concert promoter has devised a unique ticket pricing idea.
$18 for those who have been fully vaccinated, and $1,000 for everyone else. That’s what Paul Williams of Leadfoot Productions is charging for an upcoming punk rock show at a local venue in Petersburg, Florida. “We’re just trying to do a show safely,” Williams told local news station WFTS. “And they should go out and get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families and their communities.” With vaccines widely available in the state, and the most recent CDC guidelines announcing the return of live shows, Williams hopes people will step up and do the right thing. “We’re all vaccinated. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated so we can see you in the pit,” said Ray Carlisle, the lead singer of Teenage Bottlerocket, who is headlining the event.
Earlier this month, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill outlawing vaccination passports in the state. “In Florida, your personal choice regarding vaccinations will be protected and no business or government entity will be able to deny you services based on your decisions,” DeSantis said in a statement.
Knowing that he couldn’t outright ban the unvaccinated, Williams encouraged those without a vaccine to buy the full-priced tickets, and promised that they would be treated “just like everyone else.” With that being said, as of right now, no one has bought the $1,000 tickets. “I also wanted it to be a vaccine drive to get the fence-sitters off the fence,” Williams told WFTS. “I wanted to get the kids that want to go to shows to go out and get their shots.”
