Jamie Woodford
Lethbridge Herald
The Rocket Man is coming to Lethbridge.
Sir Elton John will perform his "Greatest Hits Live" tour Tuesday, April 24 at Enmax Centre. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.
Probably the biggest act to come to the city since Neil Young's concert three years ago, the announcement of John's stop in the windy city created instant online buzz. Local Twitter feeds expressed a gamut of emotions from ecstatic to skeptical.
"@Leth_Herald I still don't believe the #EltonJohn concert...something's up!!" said one tweet.
"Just checked the calendar to make sure it isn't April Fools Day. Elton John is coming to little old Lethy?! I'm excited and even touched," said another.
Diehard fans were bewildered that John would choose to play here.
"Holy crap I have shivers - ELTON JOHN IN #YQL!!!!!!!"
Landing a big-name star was team effort, said Lana Barlow, sales and marketing manager at Enmax Centre.
"We all worked really hard with the promoters and managed to be one of the successful venues that got him here," she said.
"He's one of the world's greatest performers and we're very proud that we are able to bring him here for all the people of southern Alberta."
Barlow said John's concert will coincide with the grand opening of the newly renovated centre.
"We really wanted a phenomenal performer here to celebrate with us."
She said the 6,400 tickets are expected to sell quickly.
"We have a pool going," she laughed. "But most people think that we'll be sold out within an hour."
Fans will likely line up Friday night before tickets go on sale Saturday morning but many will also utilize the Internet to purchase their tickets.
"A lot of the demographic is probably going to be out of town, because of course (John) is not going to Calgary, so a lot of those people will go the online route . . . and then probably more locals will come and line up, but they're going to use the online stuff as well," she said.
Elton John's 50-year career has made him a household name with his timeless songs including "Bennie and the Jets," "Candle in the Wind" and "Your Song."