Trey Anastasio & Delaware's other fastest concert sellouts

When The Grand announced Phish frontman Trey Anastasio was coming for his first Wilmington show, it wasn't a question of whether the concert would sell out, but rather how fast?

True to form, Anastasio's army of devoted jam-loving fans were dutifully online Dec. 1 at 10 a.m., dreaming of getting some of the 1,200 $65-$75 tickets to the rare solo concert, which will be held Tuesday night.

With tickets for his first Delaware show in nearly 25 years available only online, it took about 25 minutes to sell out with theater officials saying it would have been even faster if the box office had opened their windows.

By the time the final order went through, Anastasio had still broken The Grand's all-time record for the quickest sellout, fueled by his hardcore legion of fans, many of whom will be coming from out of state.

And it doesn't seem like many of them are willing to miss the show now that they snagged tickets. Earlier this week, there were only six tickets listed for sale on the ticket exchange website Stubhub.com, costing $120 each.

Anastasio's 17-stop solo acoustic tour kicked off in Morristown, New Jersey, on Thursday and its East Coast portion ends in Athens, Georgia, on Feb. 18. The trek starts back up April 17 in Cleveland and concludes April 28 in New Orleans.

His previous two Delaware shows were in 1993 and 1994 while fronting Phish at Newark's Bob Carpenter Center. 

With the red-headed Anastasio as the new sellout record holder at The Grand, we contacted the state's other major music venues to find out which shows of theirs have been the hottest of hot tickets over the years. 

Bob Carpenter Center, 631 S. College Ave., Newark -- When it comes to flash sellouts, 2016 was a banner year for the 4,500-person University of Delaware arena. Hip-hop artists Future and Chance the Rapper both sold out their respective concerts in about 10 minutes, says David Arthur, UD assistant athletics director for sports and entertainment sales. Other musical powerhouses who sold every ticket in 20 minutes or less: Elton John, who drew lines what wrapped around the venue (2008), Ed Sheeran (2013), Maroon 5 (2010) and fun. (2012).

Bottle & Cork, 1807 Del. 1, Dewey Beach -- Unless you've been away from Delaware's beaches for more than a decade, you know that country music has become more and more of an original music force, especially at the famed Cork. So much so that the venue's longtime slogan officially changed from "The greatest rock 'n' roll bar in the world" to "The greatest rock and country bar in the world." Last summer's pinch-me-I-can't-believe-he's-playing-a-club-this-small show by country singer Jake Owen sold out in two minutes, inching past the 2016's three-minute sellout by another country heavy hitter, Cole Swindell. In related news, this summer's upcoming Cork 82nd anniversary show scheduled for Aug. 3 headlined by semi-retired cover band Mr. Greengenes sold out in 68 minutes. "Since they do so many fairs, festivals, arenas and large outdoor venues, both Cole and Jake commented on how cool it was to play a place like the Cork that was so intimate," says Highway One Group talent buyer Vikki Walls.

Delaware State Fair, 18500 U.S. 13, Harrington -- It's been four-and-a-half years since the stars aligned and the state fair snagged a double bill that shines even brighter in retrospect. Country superstar Luke Bryan was paired with Florida Georgia Line, just as the duo was exploding in popularity thanks to their smash debut "Here's to the Good Times." The combo show sold 9,800 tickets in a half hour back in 2013, says Danny Aguilar, state fair assistant general manager.

Firefly Music Festival, The Woodlands, Dover -- Thanks to the 300-plus acres available to Firefly at the Dover Motor Speedway, there's never been a need for festival organizers to turn people away at the gate. Even though Firefly's space means sellouts are unlikely, there is one year that stands out above all others. In its seven years, 2015 was the only edition where single-day tickets were not available. If you wanted to see Sir Paul McCartney deliver his set packed with Beatles hits, it required a four-day pass. By 2016, the festival was back with single-day tickets and has never blocked them again.

The Freeman Stage at Bayside, 31750 Lake View Dr, near Selbyville -- When it comes to sellouts, The Freeman Stage doesn't keep minute-by-minute records. But recent single-day sellouts that went fast include last summer's 2,600-person concert by Chicago and 2016 shows by Huey Lewis and the News and Hotel California: The Original Tribute to the Eagles. "It's not always the most well-known acts that have sold out quickly at The Freeman Stage," venue spokesperson Alyson Cunningham says.

The Gild Hall, 2126 The Highway, Arden -- Accidentally booked only 30 miles away from New Jersey's Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival on the night before the fest, British folk rocker Richard Thompson played Arden solo on June 2, 2006. But all tickets had to be sold in person. So across four afternoons, Thompson fans drove to Arden to get their seats with 80 tickets sold in the first 45 minutes they went on sale, says Ron Ozer, an Arden Concert Gild talent buyer. Adds Ozer: "The concert itself was one of the hottest we ever had. It was close to 100 in the hall that evening and Richard had on a black silk shirt. I was sitting up front and sweat was rolling off his arm into his guitar. Made for a less appetizing, but still extremely cool concert, solo acoustic."

The Grand, 818 N Market St., Wilmington -- With Phish's Anastasio now the title holder, who did his 25-minute sellout unseat? The White Stripes had held the record for 10 years following their standing-room-only, full-throttle show in 2007. After an in-person-only on-sale that had hundreds of fans lining Market Street, Jack and Meg White delivered an enthralling performance, which turned out to be one of their final shows. Coming in third place is Willie Nelson's concert on September 10, 2014, which sold 1,200 tickets in 35 minutes -- a show that came only two years following his previous visit there. "Willie was a total surprise. We just announced and it went crazy," says Stephen Bailey, managing director of programming at The Grand.

The Queen, 500 N. Market St., Wilmington -- It's been about eight months since Live Nation took over The Queen from World Cafe Love. Since then, the Dec. 5 acoustic duo concert by Shinedown’s Brent Smith and Zach Myers is the quickest sellout with about 800 tickets going in a couple of weeks. Other sellouts have included  Brett Young, Breaking Benjamin, Third Eye Blind, Regina Spektor and Cheap Trick. During World Cafe Live's six-year reign, 2014's show by English indie pop act The xx sold out in minutes. Other quick sellouts included Neutral Milk Hotel, The Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon, Todd Rundgren, Lake Street Dive, Amos Lee and Animal Collective.

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).

IF YOU GO

Who: An Acoustic Evening with Trey Anastasio

Where: The Grand, 818 N. Market St., Wilmington 

When: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: Sold out. A small number of tickets were available earlier this week via online ticket brokers such as Stubhub.com.