Century II staff surprised by furor over tickets to show by TikTok-famous comedian
It’s been a big week for concert and show announcements in Wichita, with the city’s biggest venues adding 15 shows to their respective schedules — some of them by big-name artists.
One announcement in particular got social media buzzing and maybe even eclipsed the excitement over Intrust Bank Arena’s Wednesday announcement of a Snoop Dogg concert on July 14.
On Monday, Century II announced that comedian Matt Rife would bring his “Problemattic World Tour” to its Concert Hall on Oct. 19, and the news exploded on social media.
Rife, 27, is a stand-up comedian who has 14.4 million followers on TikTok, where he regularly posts comedy clips. He also earned a following for his self-produced comedy specials on YouTube and for appearing on several television shows, including NBC’s comedy competition “Bring the Funny” and MTV’s “The Challenge: Champs Vs. Stars” and “Wild ‘N Out,” an improv comedy series.
When Century II announced the show via Facebook, said marketing manager Emily Larkin, the post went viral. It’s since racked up 17,000 reactions and thousands of comments and shares. An “artist presale” launched on Tuesday, meaning tickets were available only to those who got a special code via Rife’s social media accounts.
Tickets to the original 7 p.m. show were mostly gone an hour after the artist presale launched, Larkin said, so Century II quickly added a second show that will happen at 10 p.m. the same night. Century II’s Concert Hall seats nearly 2,200 people, Larkin said.
Now, the only way for people to get the limited seats that remain is to try to buy them when they go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 9. Those tickets will be available at selectaseat.com/rife
“This was definitely a shock for us,” Larkin said. “When a show is announced, you never quite know how it’s going to sell. But once we saw the reception when we posted the announcement on Monday, we were blown away. We’re incredibly excited for Matt Rife to come to Century II and for our patrons to be able to see him live here.”
Here’s a list of all the concerts added to venue calendars around Wichita this week:
Through the Eyes of the Dead, June 24, TempleLive, tickets on sale at wichita.templelive.com
Mozzy, Big Boss Vette, July 1, Wave, tickets on sale at waveict.com
Snoop Dogg, July 14, Intrust Bank Arena, tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at www.selectaseat.com
Alexandra Kay, July 19, TempleLive, tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at wichita.templelive.com
Tommy Newport, Aug. 10, Wave, tickets on sale at waveict.com
Muscadine Bloodline, Aug. 19, Cotillion, tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at https://thecotillion.com/
Devon Allman & Donavon Frankenreiter, Sept. 9, Orpheum Theatre, tickets on at www.selectaseat.com
Brincos Dieras, Sept. 22, Orpheum Theatre, tickets on at www.selectaseat.com
311, Sept. 30, Wave, tickets on sale at waveict.com
Kidd G, Oct. 5, TempleLive, tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at wichita.templelive.com
Creed Fisher, Oct. 5, Cotillion, tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at https://thecotillion.com/
Teddy Swims, Oct. 13, TempleLive, tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at wichita.templelive.com
Matt Rife, Oct. 19, Century II Concert Hall, tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at www.selectaseat.com
Dawn of the Dub, Oct. 21, Cotillion, tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at https://thecotillion.com/
Vince Herman, Oct. 25, Wave, tickets on sale at waveict.com
This story was originally published June 8, 2023 at 2:23 PM.
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