Ont. beach town makes Shawn Desman concert free after meagre ticket sales

An Ontario beach town has dropped the price of entry to a Shawn Desman concert this weekend after struggling to sell tickets to the event as part of its Canada Day festivities. (Photo: Shawn Desman/Twitter)

WASAGA BEACH, Ont. — An Ontario beach town has dropped the price of entry to a Shawn Desman concert this weekend after struggling to sell tickets to the event as part of its Canada Day festivities.

Municipal officials in Wasaga Beach announced that the Toronto pop singer’s Saturday performance had been made free to the public in a news release earlier this week.

The release says ticket buyers will be automatically reimbursed, and those who won a chance to see Desman perform will be invited to take part in a “meet and greet” with the Juno winner.

The board overseeing the event recommended that council approve a budget increase of up to $53,000 to cover the loss in ticket revenues.

Council documents suggest that only 17 tickets had been purchased roughly three weeks ahead of the concert.

Desman addressed the price cut in a tweet Friday evening, saying it doesn’t matter to him how many people are at the show.

“I’ve played to 17, 170, 1700 and 17,000 people,” the pop star tweeted from his verified account. “(I) do it for the love, not for the fame.”

Desman attached an image to his tweet with the words, “The unhappiest people in this world, are those who care the most about what other people think.”