"Country" music superstar Kenny Chesney shocked the Statesboro community by announcing on Monday morning that he would be playing at Legends, a small local venue, on Thursday night. The show was to be part of his "Keg in the Closet" tour, which gives college towns less than 72 hours notice before the show to allow for an almost all-student crowd. Needless to say, this was the biggest news in Statesboro for a long time (other than the hostage situation, I suppose).
Today, Chesney announced that he would not be playing in Statesboro after all due to the recent alcohol laws which revoked the liquor license of Legends. In the words of the George-Anne editorial staff, "The tour is called 'Keg in the Closet', not 'Diet Coke in the Closet'."
This week Statesboro has experienced tremendously high highs, and horribly low lows. The Chesney concert would have given Statesboro recognition as a growing player in the Southeast and could have been an indicator of economic fortunes to come. Instead, thanks to overregulation, the community missed out on a huge opportunity. This could be an indicator of economic woes to come, as it is certainly a sign of an anti-growth environment (see the post below, where I predicted this exact behavior merely days ago.).
Gotta disagree with you just a little bit - it's not overregulation that caused Chesney not to come.
ReplyDeleteWill Britt didn't file the required paperwork with the city to make sure he was legal with the "50-50" laws (that's a whole 'nother debate), even when given more than one chance to do so.
Instead, he made excuses why he didn't turn in his homework. That's why they yanked his license back in October.
Then, to compound things, he (and brother Trey) neglected to inform Kenny Chesney's management that Legends didn't have a liqour license.
Because, of course, they read the Statesboro papers regularly, and know of Britt's problems.
But now I'm rambling. Anyway, it's a shame he's not coming - but don't blame the city fathers for this one.
By the way, the city council is poised to make happy hours and buying multiple drinks legal again at its next meeting.
Thanks for the comment Jake. Everything you said is true. The gist of my argument is that overregulation is going to hurt any economy in the long run.
ReplyDeleteNow, you are 100% correct that Will Britt should have been more careful (he knew when the paperwork was due), but I am arguing that he should never have been in that position in the first place. If he and Trey want to sell 49% food and 51% alcohol, then that should be their prerogative as entrepreneurs. We are already in a restrictive county in a restrictive state.
You are right that the Britts should have been more forthcoming, but I am arguing that they should not have had to justify the sales percentages of legal goods in the first place.
Thanks again for the posted comment.