Rock on and on and on and ... all the way to the bank

Sure, it may not be ‘GizzFest’, the groovy travelling rock festival curated by ultra-hip psych masterminds King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – but the scale and success of both the recent Desert Trip and “Fare Thee Well,” a series of concerts by the reunited Grateful Dead, opened the music industry’s eyes to the possibilities of adapting the festival model for an older, more moneyed audience.

Desert Trip, whose lineup also included The Stones, The Who, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Bob Dylan and Neil Young, sold $160 million in tickets in a few days, and “Fare Thee Well,”, sold $52 million.

Now comes ‘The Classic East & West’, a pair of two-day concerts set for Los Angeles and New York, featuring Fleetwood Mac; the Eagles; Steely Dan; the Doobie Brothers; Journey; and Earth, Wind and Fire. Tickets for the full two-day event range from $150 to $950, not including fees. Amex customers get first dibs on tix.

Clearly there is an audience for this – and the audience is 50+. Who are not likely to be hitchhiking to the venue. But rather driving in a new expensive car, drinking quality booze and buying related ‘merch’ on their Gold Card.

For the bands, the concerts add another chapter to careers that are now defined by huge success on the road. The Eagles sold more than $250 million in tickets for its last tour, while Fleetwood Mac’s most recent outing grossed more than $269 million.

Too old to rock? Nah, too much money in it.