Boxoffice Insider: Kreischer Returns To The Drive-In For A Fall Stretch

Bert Kreischer’s “Hot Summer Nights” drive-in tour is adding autumn nights to the mix with a third leg of his tour. The fall trek began on Oct. 7 with two shows staged in the parking lot at Salt Lake City’s Maverik Center. He has 20 shows booked in 12 locations through the 23rd of this month with eight of the venues planning both evening and late shows.

As the name implies, the tour began as a summer event in response to the lack of indoor performing opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kreischer launched the tour with an opening performance on June 24 at Hound’s Drive-In in Kings Mountain, N.C. It was the first in a series of six sold-out shows in four American cities with fans of the comedian enjoying his act from the comfort – and safety – of their own automobiles.

After the opening run, the tour was extended with a second group of dates added in August including a final summer performance on Aug. 19 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. A total of 17 shows in 10 cities were reported to Pollstar for a combined gross topping $1.1 million. Altogether during the summer jaunt, he performed for more than 20,000 fans.

Most of his events have been set in traditional, outdoor drive-in theaters, but for the fall run, he has also included five arenas on the schedule. Along with the Salt Lake City opener at the Maverik Center, he will also be performing in parking lots at arenas in Colorado Springs, Prescott Valley, Ariz. and Chicago. In San Antonio, he is set to appear next door to an arena with a socially distanced show at the Bud Light Courtyard, a performance area alongside the AT&T Center. It will be one of two socially distanced shows on the tour, the other being a performance at the Amphitheater at Las Colonias Park in Grand Junction, Colo.

The first date on the fall trek featured tickets offered from $110 to $180 per vehicle with up to four attendees allowed. A VIP ticket was also available for $275. The remainder of the fall drive-in dates have a similar pricing structure for tickets per car, and, for the socially distanced shows, tickets are priced at $36.50 to $72 in Grand Junction and $35.50 to $55.50 in San Antonio.

Kreischer had originally planned to be on the road for much of 2020 with his “The Berty Boy” tour set in North American theaters. Many of those dates were postponed and are now scheduled to resume on Dec. 17 at the Duluth (Minn.) Entertainment Convention Center’s Symphony Hall. Currently 44 shows are booked at 30 venues through July 2021, including a three-show engagement at Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Fla. in February. Twelve venues are planning two performances with the final two-show stand booked at Atlantic City’s Borgata Event Center on July 17.

“The Berty Boy” tour launched on Jan. 30, 2020 and began with a sold-out, two-show opener at Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington, Vt. 

Promoted by Outback Presents, the event grossed $112,780 from 2,162 sold tickets. Kreischer completed 23 shows on the tour before the live industry shutdown in March, earning $2.6 million at the boxoffice from 51,153 sold seats. The final two shows occurred at Washington’s DAR Constitution Hall on March 8 with 5,352 fans in attendance and $286,362 in ticket sales.