Boots on the Ground: When 12,000 People Show Up for Al Green

There are numbers that tell you a concert was popular.

Then there is getting in line before the gates open, waiting 20 or 30 minutes, and still discovering somebody is already sitting in your spot.

“Sometimes the playbook works exactly as planned. Sometimes you have to move the blanket.”

— Mike MacPherson

For Gina and her friends, Stern Grove has become something of a summer tradition. They’ve learned how the lottery works, where they like to sit and how to give themselves the best chance of getting inside.

Sunday, August 16, was Gina’s fourth trip to the festival.

She went to see Al Green.

This one was different.

“I’ve never made a line that long,” Gina told SF Bay Weekend. “I’ve never had such a thing.”

She wasn’t imagining the demand.

About 160,000 ticket requests were made for Al Green’s season-closing performance, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, competing for roughly 12,000 available spots inside the concert meadow.

And that makes what Gina and her friends do every summer suddenly look less like a ritual and more like strategy.

Everybody Enters

Stern Grove tickets are free.

Getting one is another matter.

This summer, the festival averaged roughly 100,000 lottery entries per show and more than 1.1 million entries across the season. About 80 percent of hopeful attendees were shut out.

For Al Green, demand climbed to about 160,000 requests — just short of the roughly 170,000 that Diana Ross drew for what has been reported as the festival’s record demand.

So Gina’s group does the logical thing.

Everybody enters.

If several friends want to go, every person puts their name into the lottery. They’re not trying to game the system. They’re simply giving the group as many legitimate chances as possible in a lottery where the odds can be roughly one in five.

It worked.

They got tickets.

Then came the next lesson.

Before Noon Still Wasn’t Early Enough

The gates opened at noon.

Gina and her friends were already in line.

They waited somewhere around 20 to 30 minutes and made it inside just after noon.

Their normal spot was already gone.

Someone else had beaten them to it.

They didn’t go far. The group found another place nearby, settled in and still had a good spot.

Just not quite as good as the one they normally get.

That’s a small detail, but it changes the advice considerably.

“Arrive early” is easy to write in a weekend guide.

Gina can tell you what early actually means when Al Green comes to Stern Grove.

For one of the biggest shows of the summer, being in line before the gates opened still wasn’t enough to guarantee the place her group normally uses.

If you care where you sit at a marquee Stern Grove show, the playbook doesn’t start when the gates open.

It starts in the line before they do.

Then Al Green Made It Worth It

By the time Al Green took the stage, the 12,000-capacity meadow was full.

Goapele and the GLIDE Ensemble were also part of the season-closing afternoon, but Al Green was the name that had generated nearly record-level ticket demand.

And after the lottery, the early arrival, the longest line Gina had encountered in four trips and losing their usual spot, there’s one question that matters.

Was it worth it?

Definitely.

For Gina, Al Green delivered.

That completes the part of the story an event listing can’t give you.

The lottery was difficult.

The line was long.

Their usual spot was gone.

They adjusted, found another good place nearby and watched Al Green close out the season in front of a packed Stern Grove.

Sometimes the playbook works exactly as planned.

Sometimes you have to move the blanket.

That’s Boots on the Ground

Before Sunday, I could tell you Stern Grove was free.

I could explain the lottery.

I could tell you when the gates opened.

I could tell you Al Green was closing the season.

Gina could tell you what “early” actually meant when Al Green came to town.

And she could tell you something else.

It was worth it.

That’s the reason for Boots on the Ground.

SF Bay Weekend can find the event, research it and help you make a plan.

Then somebody has to actually go.

And sometimes the most useful thing they bring back isn’t a review.

It’s the thing they learned that makes your trip better the next time.

For Stern Grove, Gina’s playbook is pretty simple:

Get everybody in your group into the ticket lottery.

And if you win for one of the biggest shows of the summer, don’t plan to arrive when the gates open.

Plan to already be in line.

Follow the playbook. Then make it your own.

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GINA’S STERN GROVE PLAYBOOK

Enter as a group

Everyone should enter the lottery to improve the group’s chances.

Get there before gates open

Gina was already in line before noon and still lost her usual spot.

Expect a wait

Her group waited roughly 20–30 minutes to get inside.

Be flexible

Their usual spot was taken, but they found another good spot nearby.

Is it worth it?

For Al Green, Gina’s answer was definitely yes.