Early-bird Wanee tickets go on sale today

LIVE OAK, Fla. — Music fans … Southern rock/Americana music fans … and especially Wanee Music Festival fans who want to save 50 bucks or so on tickets to the annual festival can do so this week. But they’d better hurry.

A limited number of early-bird, general admission tickets for the April 16-18 festival will be on sale through Tuesday at a reduced cost of $175. Because supply is limited, the tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis through 6 p.m. Tuesday. After that, regular prices (usually around $225) will kick in. VIP packages will also go on sale Wednesday.

On the day after early ticket sales end, festival organizers will announce the lineup for Wanee ‘15, and while they’re being tight-lipped about who will be on the bill, they promise it’s shaping up to be “one of the most exciting yet.”

The legendary Allman Brothers Band hosted the festival for all but one year of its decade-long run (when band co-founder Gregg Allman had health issues), but the band announced last year that it was ending its 40-plus-year touring trek at the end of this year. There is speculation that Allman, who played a solo set at Music Midtown in Atlanta on Sept. 20, may perform at Wanee with his other band. Soon-to-be former Allman Brothers guitarists Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks are also Wanee regulars with their other bands, Gov’t Mule and the Tedeschi Trucks Band, respectively.

The early-bird tickets are for general admission all three days of the festival and the bonus Wanee Wednesday Happy Hour, which will kick off the musical festivities at 3 p.m. April 15 and continue until 1 a.m. They also include primitive camping.

Fans can secure the lower-priced tickets — and get additional information — online at www.waneefestival.com and at Tickets Today outlets.