Live Nation and the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority have announced the headliners for this summer’s Atlantic City Beach Concert Series.
Jimmy Buffett & the Coral Reefer Band with special guest G. Love & Special Sauce kicks off the festivities on Saturday, August 13, followed by Zac Brown Band with Drake White and The Big Fire on Thursday, September 1 and then Saturday, September 3 with Florida Georgia Line with Cole Swindell, The Cadillac Three and Kane Brown.
The announcement did not mention a previously announced July performance by Toby Keith—meaning the deal presumably fell through—but officials said more concerts may still be announced.
Tickets for Zac Brown Band go on sale Friday, May 27 at 10am; tickets for Jimmy Buffett & the Coral Reefer Band go on sale Friday, June 3 at 10am; tickets for Florida Georgia Line go on sale Friday, June 10 at 10am. Tickets will be available at Ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster Outlets or by-phone at 800-745-3000.
Ticket prices were not announced, but a review of Ticketmaster by the Press of Atlantic City found listings from $39.50 to $55.
“Presenting world-class entertainment to Atlantic City year after year is an honor to say the least,” said Geoff Gordon, Live Nation Philadelphia Regional President in a press release. “Our team, along with the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, the mayor’s office, and all our municipal and city partners, couldn’t be more excited to be a part of another year of summer programming for the city.”
In March, the CRDA board approved a three-year, $6 million agreement with Live Nation to bring more beach concerts to Atlantic City. The deal asked Live Nation to bring at least six beach concerts or other events that attract at least 30,000 attendees to the resort city for each of the next three summers, the Press reported.
City Officials hope the concerts will help counteract the bad publicity the resort has been receiving while its municipal finances have been debated in Trenton. The city’s government had been facing bankruptcy, but a fiscal recovery plan has been approved in Trenton.
However, tourism officials are quick to point out that the crisis never affected the city’s casinos or attractions and that several casinos have opened new attractions, bars and nightclubs for the summer.
State figures also show that operating profits at Atlantic City’s eight casino properties went up by more than 31 percent in the first three months of this year, an increase of $25 million from the same period in 2015.
The current operators took in a combined $802.6 million in total revenue for the first three months of the year, an increase of 2.7 percent, according to the Associated Press.
