Ty Dolla $ign performed at Heart of Dixie’s Monster Massive party on Halloween with no hiccups along the way.
Considering St. George’s strict history on dance and alcohol permits, Monster Massive by Heart of Dixie on Halloween was a success.
Several other disc jockeys from Utah tied the Halloween bash together, including a few of our own.
“J- Shades and De$ean are local Live Hip Hop (artists)," said Jared Keddington, co-owner of Heart of Dixie. "J Shades, who recently won Vans Warped Tour battle of the hometown Heros, DJ K is from DSU that actually won last years battle of the DJs."
DJ J-Shades and DJ K are St. George locals.
Keddington said booking someone as popular as Ty Dolla $ign came at the hefty price of nearly $50,000. Just under 2,000 people showed up despite the projected 4,000 attendees. According to a map graphic on Heart of Dixie's website, ticket sales spread as far as Texas and California, though the majority of attendees were from St. George and the Salt Lake City area.
“The real question was whether or not we could curate an audience large enough to be able to convince the bigger acts to come here,” Keddington said. “That took some time- three years to be exact. But now we have a substantial following and developed a good brand.”
CJ Braunstein, a freshman communication major from Mission Viejo, California, said there were many complaints about Ty Dolla $ign’s behavior.
“I heard a lot of people talking about how he wasn’t singing much,” Braunstein said, “That’s kind of true, but he was interacting with all the fans which was the coolest part.”
“[Ty Dolla $ign] was stage diving, coming right up to the gate, bringing girls on stage," Braunstein said. "I don’t know why people thought it wasn’t fun.”
Jo Ann Gordon, marketing director of the Dixie Center, said if someone wants to book an event, all they have to do is pay their prices. The Dixie Center does not discriminate against any type of event. However, it does have an enforced alcohol policy.
“[Heart of Dixie] requested alcohol, which we don’t allow for public events,” said Gordon.
“We definitely have our ducks in a row to put on one hell of a show," Keddington said. "Having Ty booked makes me happy to see this movement we started finally starting to gain the momentum we need here in southern Utah.”
