Lady Gaga performance at Stubb’s as SXSW fills major gap in music
Avant-garde singer’s show set for Thursday; ticket lottery required.
South by Southwest confirmed the worst-kept secret of the 2014 festival Thursday morning: Doritos is bringing pop superstar Lady Gaga to Austin.
The widely anticipated announcement came in the wake of last week’s news, first reported in the Statesman’s Austin Music Source blog, that Gaga was denied a permit to play the giant vending machine that Doritos has built in the parking lot of Carmelo’s Italian Restaurant for the past two years. The vending machine will be back, but Gaga has been moved to Stubb’s BBQ after the city ruled that having her on an open air temporary stage could present a public safety issue. Her show, which will be Thursday, was one of the last big holes in the music schedule to be filled, with a keynote speaker still to be named.
Like many of the other corporate-sponsored me- ga shows that have become part of SXSW, festival badgeholders and wristband holders will have to enter a lottery to win a ticket. An extra wrinkle: Gaga fans will have to complete a “Bold Mission” — which could include busking on the street or facing down roller derby players — to enter the lottery. The missions are an extension of a market-
ing campaign launched by Doritos last year.
“In the music world, there is no artist bolder than Lady Gaga, and we knew our fans would be up for the boldest of challenges to see her perform,” Alexia Allina, a spokesperson for Frito-Lay said by email.
On YouTube, Gaga announced the first mission, which is open to all her fans: Tweet, Instagram or Vine a picture or video that expresses your individuality through a bold action, and tag the post with the hashtags #boldstage and #boldbravery. One fan will win an all-expenses-paid trip to SXSW 2014 and a VIP pass for the show. Three other challenges also are open to the public and can be accessed at doritos.com/boldbravery.
Within hours, the Doritos website was flooded with photos of fans in extravagant makeup and wild costumes trying to win. The social media response in Austin was lukewarm. By Tuesday afternoon a website called www.boldomissions.com had popped up with proposed alternatives to the Doritos challenges, including the self-explanatory “Boldsiesta” and “Boldbeer.” Also, “Boldselfie — Take a selfie of yourself walking by the Stubb’s line and laughing and win this: a lifetime of self-respect.”
Lady Gaga’s fee for the show was not disclosed, but a portion of her proceeds will go to the Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Gaga and her mother to combat bullying and homophobia.
The festival also made advance tickets to two official showcases at the Paramount Theatre available to the public Thursday. Tickets to the Sunset Sessions showcase featuring Melissa Etheridge and Bob Schneider