New trend alert: Some of the world's most shameless superstar musicians are charging fans exorbitant fees for the chance to lug around their gear. KISS bassist and co-frontman Gene Simmons caught flack for selling a $12,495 Personal Assistant/Band Roadie Experience package for his solo tour that doesn't even include a ticket to the show (but does come with an autographed bass). He defended the package Tuesday, telling the New York Post:
When I was a kid and went to see shows, I was always curious, "What’s it like when they're in a hotel? What's it like when the stage is set up? What’s it like being onstage when they’re performing and seeing the audience from the stage?" I decided, "You know what, nobody’s ever done it. Why not open the idea to be my personal roadie for the day?"
Simmons has since canceled most of the tour with the promise of rescheduling the dates for 2026. In the meantime, another, much younger star has launched a similar initiative.
Perhaps JoJo Siwa is the Gen Z Gene Simmons. Both are famous for wild costumes, relentless merchandising, and saying dumb shit. And now she has her own version of the Personal Assistant/Band Roadie Experience.
Siwa’s Dream Guest VIP option is admittedly less ridiculous than what Simmons is selling – it’s billed as more of an All Access pass rather than a roadie/personal assistant experience, and it costs $11,595 less. It's also possibly less exclusive, as Simmons is selling only one Experience per show whereas there's no information as to how many Dream Guest VIP tickets Siwa is selling for each gig. You can bring a friend if you buy Simmons' package, whereas Siwa's Dream VIP option is limited to one per person.
As described on her website, the ticket includes an "exclusive invitation to JoJo’s Live Show setup before Q&A and Soundcheck with JoJo" and an invite to "help JoJo put together the show with song selection input." As she recently told Access Hollywood, "You actually are going to get to come during while we're loading in the show, and you're going to get to kind of like help us set it up and make sure things are right, and test out the drum with me or the DJ booth with me."
The intersection of late capitalism and celebrity worship is dark and weird!
