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Prime seats were available at prime prices before noon in six rows of Section Front 3. (Source: Ticketmaster)Tickets sold swiftly for Anita Baker's first hometown concert in years, a July 22 gig at Little Caesar's Arena.
Seventy-two sections are sold out, with about 1,100 seats left three hours after going on sale Friday morning, Ticketmaster's event site shows.
Prices were $99 to $1,850 for a front-row perch, and that's before resellers flip some on StubHub, TickPick and SeatGeek.
By 1 p.m., availability had shrunk to 12 mezzanine seats ($450), seven in the upper bowl ($200 and more), 107 in the lower bowl ($220-$950) and 1,042 on the main floor ($375-$850).
Top-priced seats hear the stage went quickly at $950 and even at almost twice as much in the first three "platinum" sections to sell out before noon, as shown above.
The 64-year-old star, who began singing R&B at Detroit clubs as a 16-year-old, is an eight-time Grammy winner with a global fan base. After singing with the funk band Chapter 8 in the late 1970s, Baker released her first solo album, "The Songstress," in 1983. Her career rise soon accelerated.
She has sold-out shows tonight and Saturday at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, the last of eight performances there since May 20. Its 1,815-seat venue charged $60-$300 per ticket, markedly less than the Detroit concert staged by Live Nation.
Prices for her LCA appearance included $300 for some upper-bowl spots. The arena has up to 22,000 concert seats.
The cost puts off this Detroit fan, whose reaction may be shared widely:
Apparently Anita Baker floor seats are $600-$1500? Pass
— Kyla L. Wright (@KylaWrightMedia) June 2, 2022
► Update: In a social media reaction to this article, reader Jeff Bryngelson of Macomb Township comments: "It's nuts. Wish she did a residency at LCA for regular prices. Could be a career enhancer like Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden."
