No worries about Blue Dot Fever in Cheyenne.
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the dreaded problem in the music industry, which is all of the blue dots on seating charts when fans go to buy tickets. Several major artists have canceled shows or tours, ostensibly due to lack of ticket sales, and there are plenty of smaller artists who have even admitted that they were forced to scrap their tour because they weren’t selling tickets.
Of course there have been just as many think pieces about why this is happening: Is it the economy? Is it a crash in demand following a post-COVID boom? Is it because the ticket-buying process is terrible?
But Cheyenne Frontier Days, the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and western celebration, has seemingly cracked the code on blue dot fever, and as it turns out it wasn’t all that hard to solve in the first place: Just put fans first.
Cheyenne Frontier Days is of course legendary in the rodeo world, but they’re equally legendary for the incredible country music concerts that they bring along to Wyoming every summer.
The rodeo, which started all the way back in 1897, is the “World’s Largest Outdoor Rodeo & Western Celebration” and draws upwards of 200,000 people to Cheyenne – nearly quadruple the city’s population for 10 amazing days during the summer.
While people obviously flock to Frontier Days for events like bull riding, saddle bronc, steer wrestling and barrel racing, the rodeo always features a stacked lineup of entertainment in the evenings with their Frontier Nights.
This year’s event, which kicks off this Friday and runs from July 17-26, features a stacked lineup including Treaty Oak Revival, Alex Warren, The Red Clay Strays, Riley Green, Trace Adkins, Blake Shelton, HARDY, and Zach Top.
And one of the best things about the rodeo is that unlike most concerts, fans don’t have to worry about dynamic pricing: The ticket prices stay the same no matter what, so fans always know what price they’re going to pay when they log on to buy a ticket. (How many times have you been trying to buy a ticket for a show and the price is double what you expected because the demand is high?)
Tickets for Frontier Nights start at just $78, and you can rest assured that they’re not going to go up based on some shady algorithm before you can get them in your cart.
But that’s not the only way that the annual event has managed to beat the blue dot fever and put fans first. The rodeo offers a ton of free or budget-friendly options that keeps the iconic event accessible to everybody.
On Friday, July 17, the rodeo is offering FREE gate admission from 10:30 AM to noon, and on Wednesday, July 22 all Laramie County, Wyoming residents can get in free with a valid ID. Then on Sunday, July 26, gate admission is only $5 for all fans and includes free access to the Morning Star Indian Village with gate admission, and $7 beer on Frontier Park all day long.
There are also free Grand Parades on July 18, 21, 23 and 25 through the heart of downtown Cheyenne showcasing the heritage of the American West with horse-drawn carriages, marching bands, and authentic Western attire. And to get your day started right, you can also find their free pancake breakfast on July 20, 22 and 24, where over 100,000 pancakes will be served in downtown Cheyenne.
For fans who want to get an insider look at the action, Cheyenne Frontier Days also offers free Behind the Chutes tours throughout the week, allowing fans to walk through the chutes where the cowboys and animals prepare for competition and get a behind the scenes look at what it takes to put on the world’s largest outdoor rodeo.
Of course there’s a ton more to do both at the rodeo and in downtown Cheyenne throughout the week, and you can find much more information on the Cheyenne Frontier Days website. Tickets are still available, and first day rodeo tickets start at just $25 – meaning you can take a whole family of four for less than you’d pay for most concerts these days.
There are plenty of affordable ticket options still available, starting at $30 for all other days, and just $28 for PRCA Xtreme Bulls on Monday, July 20 and Tuesday, July 21 during Frontier Nights.
All of this has not only helped Cheyenne Frontier Days avoid the dreaded blue dot fever that’s plaguing so many concerts and events around the country, but it’s this same fan-friendly approach that has kept people coming back for well over a century.
This year will be my first time at Cheyenne Frontier Days, which has always been a bucket list item for me. If you want to scratch it off your list too, it’s not too late – and it won’t break the bank either.
