Christopher Thomas isn’t going to let a little thing like a canceled concert get in the way of making lemonade out of lemons.
Thomas and his son had great seats, close to the stage, Sunday for the ill-fated Morgan Wallen concert in Oxford. They watched the opening acts and were ready just moments before 9 p.m. when Wallen had made his entrance for the first Oxford concert Saturday.
But Wallen never showed and country music fans have been furious ever since as he bailed on a concert with nearly 60,000 fans already packed into Vaught Hemingway Stadium at Ole Miss.
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However, after returning home, the Franklin, Tenn. entrepreneur has found a way to make the best of a bad situation.
In conjunction with a friend of his, Thomas has created a t-shirt that reads, “I did not see Morgan Wallen live and in concert in Oxford, MS.” He is now selling them for $28 each with all of the profit being donated to charity to support the victims of the Rolling Fork/Silver City tornadoes in March.
“It just seems like if there is a way do some good, we should take advantage of it,” Thomas said. “So, I called my friend Alfredo (Malatesta) at Flavour Gallery and asked him to collaborate on this limited-edition tee. I’m glad that Alfredo is always up for a fun project that raises money for a good cause.”
Now, the orders are coming in fast and furious. Thomas says the shirts are a one-time pre order situation. When all of first printing is done, that will be it. There will be no second orders.
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“We just started selling these shirts less than 24 hours ago and I feel we’re on pace to sell hundreds, if not more, due to passion and interest in the storyline,” Thomas said. “We’ve already had customers as far West as California buying these because they flew in for the concert from out of town.”
The deadline for buying the shirts is May 7.
While Thomas spent a lot of money on travelling to the show, selling the shirts has nothing to do with making his money back.
“One hundred percent of the profit will go to charity,” he said. “This trip was intended to be a great experience for me and my 15-year-old son, and it was. I have seen the pictures and video from Rolling Fork, and I am sure that doesn’t even do it justice. They need the help and if we can just help a little bit, that is a good thing.”
Having said that, Thomas, who is a serial entrepreneur in the Franklin and Nashville area and runs the Made South Holiday Market in Franklin, spent more than $2,000 on the trip to the Wallen concert.
“We had great seats and they cost $1,400 total, but we will get that back,” Thomas said.
However, he won’t get back the $600 he spent staying at the Graduate Hotel in Oxford. Nor, will he recoup the nearly $300 on gasoline he paid for.
“That’s not even counting $50 or whatever it was for the chicken fingers we bought in the stadium,” Thomas joked.
He said he had been to concerts before where the act canceled, but this cancelation seemed different.
“It was weird and people were shocked,” Thomas said. “There was a silent moment and then the drunk sat in on the crowd and everyone was going crazy.”
Thomas said he wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. So, he and his son quickly made their way to the exit. But all in all, Thomas said it was a great experience and time he was able to spend with his son and they will have a great story to tell forever.
“When we go home, someone joked that you went to see Morgan Wallen and all you got was this stupid t-shirt,” Thomas said. “That’s how all of this was born. It’s a non-event t-shirt. So, I was reminded of the Mississippi tornadoes and thought we could poke fun and joke about this and raise money for a good cause too. That’s the plan.”
If you have a story idea, Ross Reily can be reached by email at [email protected] or at 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.
