August 14, 1966 -- the Beatles in Cleveland
An article from 2016.
Attendance was 24,000.
"But with tickets selling for $3 to $5.50, WIXY dreamed of attendance hitting 70,000, notes author Deanna Adams, whose books include the history "Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection." Promoters considered the concert a "dismal failure."
One reason was the U.S. publication, only days earlier, of an interview with John Lennon that originally appeared five months earlier in the London Evening Standard, without much notice. Interviewer Maureen Cleave wrote that Lennon was "reading extensively about religion," and quoted him saying: "We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock 'n' roll or Christianity."
Lennon's comment in context was an observation about religion losing its connection with youth. It was taken, especially in the South, as an anti-Christian boast, and it led to the banning and burning of Beatles records and memorabilia. The fierce reaction threatened to stop the tour.
"I'm sure it was because of the parents, not so much the kids," Adams said. "As kids, I think we were smart enough to understand what Lennon was saying." But concert attendance was affected because, in many cases, "the parents dropped off the kids and picked them up afterward."
The Hough riots, three weeks earlier, also left some leery of going downtown. A wet and chilly night didn't add to the appeal.
https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/08/remembering_the_beatles_1966_cleveland_show_50_years_on.html
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