'Alabama Charlie' helps local fan get 'Back to The Beach' with Vince Gill

After he read about Santa Rosa Beach resident Vicki Gatliff’s troubles getting tickets for the upcoming Vince Gill concert, “Alabama” Charlie McPeak took matters into his own hands.

The eight-year Destin resident told The Log that he offered to give Gatliff two of his own personal tickets to the show, in addition to a chauffeured Limousine ride to the show, courtesy of 654-LIMO.

“I felt bad that she lived here and wouldn’t get to go,” he said. “I just wanted to help her out.”

Last week, Gatliff told The Sun that people who live here 'were getting screwed' because all of the tickets that had been allocated for the general public had been given away.

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TICKED OFF: Walton County woman says locals should ‘Be Rewarded’ with Vince Gill tickets

Vickie Gatliff is a huge fan of Vince Gill, but she won’t be in attendance when he comes to Walton County for the free “Back to the Beach” concert.

After searching the Internet and the Beaches of South Walton website for days, Gatliff couldn’t find a way to get her hands on a pair of tickets. When she called the Tourist Development Council Wednesday, Gatliff was told that all of the tickets that had been allocated for the general public had been given away.

“It just ticks me off,” said Gatliff, a 20 year Walton County resident. “The people who live here and were affected by the oil spill are getting screwed.”

As part of the TDC’s “Be Rewarded” campaign, 10,000 complimentary tickets were made available for the Sept. 25 outdoor concert at the Links Golf Course driving range at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort featuring country music legend Vince Gill.

“It was my understanding that the tickets were supposed to be for the people who lived here that had been affected,” Gatliff said. “Now the only way people who didn’t get the public tickets can go is to purchase lodging. We shouldn’t have to do that — we live here and own property.”

Tourism officials, however, have said that the free concerts are designed to bring people back to the beach.

“We just want to reward people for coming to the Beaches of South Walton,” said the TDC’s Tracy Louthain.

But Gatliff is concerned that people are going to scalp the tickets, leaving a lot of locals without the opportunity to attend the show. And Gatliff said, “this isn’t the first time” something like this has happened either.

 “The same thing happened at the Jimmy Buffett concert in Orange Beach,” she said Thursday.

Louthain said she hadn’t heard about the problem or anybody scalping tickets. She said that from what she was looking at “nothing seemed weird or out of the ordinary.”

“I can tell you that it was limited to 10 tickets per person for the public,” she said. “We have been monitoring it on the back end, so it would be hard for someone out there to abuse this.”

After talking to friends in the area, Gatliff said she became “more upset” when she learned that some of the local businesses had been given up to 100 tickets for “promotional” purposes.

“It’s just frustrating,” she added.

While all of the public tickets are gone, those interested in attending the free concert can still get tickets by booking a three-night stay with local lodging partners. Funding for the concert was made possible through a grant from BP to help boost late summer travel to the Gulf Coast. 

For more information about the concerts, visit www.BeachesofSouthWalton.com or contact the Visitor’s Center at (800) 822-6877.