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New Yorkers raced to get tickets to Paul McCartney’s surprise show on Tuesday
By
Ryan Kailath
and
Hannah Frishberg
Published Feb 11, 2025
Modified Feb 11, 2025
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By
Ryan Kailath
and
Hannah Frishberg
Published Feb 11, 2025
Modified Feb 11, 2025
Share
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Hundreds of New Yorkers hurried across town for the chance to see Paul McCartney live, after he announced on Tuesday afternoon that he would be performing a rare, intimate show at 6:30 p.m. later that day at the Bowery Ballroom.
Tickets for the show — which is now sold out — were $50 each, and for sale exclusively from the Bowery Ballroom box office. There was a one-ticket-per-person allowance.
Sam Leon, 23, said he was walking over the Williamsburg Bridge to get some food in Chinatown when he saw the notification and “took off running.”
New Yorkers raced to get tickets to see Paul McCartney's show on Tuesday.
Ryan Kailath / Gothamist
"There aren't many people I would run for, but Paul is someone I would run for," said Micah Weisberg, who had hustled to the line from his office on Hudson and Canal. By the time he arrived, he was about a half block from the box office, and eventually scored a ticket.
“I got here at 10 a.m.,” Aidan Mailley, the first person in line, said. He credited only a “pigeon” for tipping him off to the exclusive tickets.
Initially, he said, “it was two to three of us for an hour and then they started to show up." By noon, he said, people were "running down the street to get here."
One person walked past the crowd, offering to pay $200 for someone’s spot in the line.
Five friends pose for the camera with their tickets to see Paul McCartney.
Ryan Kailath / Gothamist
The last-minute event follows McCartney going viral after being photographed casually dining at a New Orleans restaurant the day before the Super Bowl, and ahead of him performing alongside a star-studded list of celebrities on NBC's special "Saturday Night Live" 50th anniversary celebration this weekend.
By 1:06 p.m., a security guard was using a traffic cone as a megaphone to yell “the show is sold out.”
The last person to score a ticket was Roman Malenda, 18, from the Lower East Side.
“There’s some survivor’s guilt,” he said, but added that it was also “very exhilarating.”
“I feel like Charlie,” Malenda said. “In the chocolate factory.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
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Ryan Kailath
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Hannah Frishberg
Hannah Frishberg covers New York City arts and culture. Got a tip? Email Hannah at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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