Toronto music fans: We’d love your feedback!

With much of the 2017 Guelph Jazz Festival programming now public, we are working to determine the ticketing and pricing structure for the event. With this in mind, we are seeking feedback from Toronto supporters of the Festival around a potential initiative.

Typically, the Festival sells passes for the entire program, plus single tickets for single concerts (including double bills). We are considering implementing the combination of a Day Pass for Saturday 16 September plus a charter bus service departing from and returning to Toronto the same day. The three ticketed concerts to which the Day Pass would apply are:

1) 10:30am: Matthew Shipp, solo piano, Co-operators Hall, River Run Centre
2) 2pm: Way Out Northwest (John Butcher/Torsten Müller/Dylan van der Schyff) & René Lussier’s MEUH, Guelph Little Theatre
3) 8pm: Josh Zubot’s MendHam & BassDrumBone (Ray Anderson/Mark Helias/Gerry Hemingway), Co-operators Hall, River Run Centre
(in addition to much free programming at the Market Square Stage)

We are still determining ticket prices, but single tickets to these three shows would cost, in total, $80 general & $65 student/senior/under-waged. A Saturday Day Pass would amount to a saving of roughly $15 for these three concerts.

The charter bus initiative would have a bus pick up attendees at 9am that day from a central Toronto location, and return after the BassDrumBone set, arriving in Toronto around 12am. The round-trip price would be approximately $15 per rider so, in essence, by buying the pass, one would pay regular price for the tickets but gets the bus rides for free. (The Saturday Day Pass would still be available to those who wish to travel otherwise.)

For our ‘market research,’ we would appreciate your feedback by responding to questions such as:

1) Does the Saturday 16 September Day Pass represent good value? How likely would you be to buy such a pass (instead of a Five-Day Festival Pass or single tickets)?

2) Does the Toronto-Guelph charter bus plan appeal to you? How likely would you be to take advantage of such a service?

3) Do you have any other comments about the logistics and/or practicality of the charter bus proposal? Any other input about this proposal?

Please send your email responses to Scott Thomson, Artistic Director, by 19 June. Your replies will remain confidential, and do not constitute any obligation to purchase if such initiatives were to be implemented. No matter what structure is selected, tickets and passes for the 2017 Guelph Jazz Festival will go on sale on 3 July.

Thank you for your help, and for supporting creative music.