Opening acts at concerts are talked over and booed. Or worse, skipped. Considering some of the lousy acts out there, that's understandable.
But it'd be shocking if the crowd is rude on Thursday night at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, when the country trio Lady Antebellum opens for Tim McGraw. They're so hot, it's a good bet that many in the crowd bought pricey tickets to see them, not McGraw. (That's not a knock on McGraw, who will no doubt draw thousands of devoted fans.)
Lady Antebellum's case is rare, though. As was Taylor Swift's in 2007, when she had a No. 1 album while opening here for Brad Paisley.
Even if a talented band or artist pleasantly surprises a crowd and garners compliments as fans file out of the venue, there are more looming hurdles. Perhaps the biggest pitfall for opening acts is being forgettable. It seems more often than not, people no longer remember an opening band's name a month (or a week) after a show. Ouch.
Co-headlined shows featuring more than one star are different. When Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson toured together, they had equal billing, as will Pat Benatar and REO Speedwagon at their July show at the St. Augustine Amphitheatre. Neither is truly an opening act, though obviously one has to play first.
Disregarding a "lower" act too quickly, though, could be a mistake - back in 2001, Kenny Chesney opened in Jacksonville for McGraw.
Plus, it's not easy being an opening act, says Reed Glick, a 30-year industry veteran who heads R Entertainment agency. He's managed tours for acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins.
Ultimately, on a national tour level like McGraw's, Glick said, the headlining stars are in control. They may want a strong show, but don't want to be outshined. So they choose their opening acts, pay them, decide on show details and approve promotional materials.
"If you're Kenny Chesney," he said. "It's your money. It's your power."
Opening acts are typically given shorter sets, less stage space and lighting and lower volume than the headliner, which can make their performance seem shabbier.
On top of that, he said, it's not unusual for openers to be paid less than 1 percent of what the headliner makes. That doesn't sound glamorous, but it does get them a lot of exposure to potential fans.
"[Opening acts] have no say," Glick said. "They're lucky to get paid much of anything."
If a star makes $250,000 a night, then an opening act might get $1,000. When Glick was tour manager for the Vans Warped Tour, about 90 of the bands made $250 per show, he said.
That's certainly not enough to pay for travel expenses on a tour, so an artist's record label typically steps up with extra money, he said.
But Glick stressed that every gig is different. The determining factors are connections between artists, agents, managers, record labels and promoters, he said.
"At the end of the day, it's relationships. And in country [music], so many of them have relationships," he said.
