ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — Multiple people who bought Morgan Wallen concert tickets through a third party say the tickets they paid for last fall still have not arrived ahead of the country star's two shows at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor this weekend.
Morgan Wallen is set to headline two shows at the Big House — Friday night and Saturday night — marking only the second time in the stadium's history it has hosted a concert.
Watch Brett Kast's video report below:
The tickets in question were sold by John Klein, who runs a group called Hailgate, which has held tailgate events outside Michigan Stadium for years. Klein also sold game tickets and jerseys in the past.
Sarah Yelencich, a Michigan football fan and Hailgate member for several years, said she bought tickets through Klein for the Wallen cocnert after he began offering them. She paid for the tickets in October.
"He was pricing them at $250, promised lower bowl, great sections," Yelencich said.
Klein also sold floor seats, suites and meet-and-greet opportunities, according to Yelencich and others in the group. But after paying in full, their tickets never came.
"It just became excuse after excuse," Yelencich said.
Others in the same situation began connecting with one another. Many were out hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Yelencich said she was able to get a refund, but 10 of her friends are still waiting.
"Because I referred a bunch of people to this group, I was also getting a bunch of questions like 'how do I know this guy,' and I'm like 'I really don't know this guy.'”
Klein addressed the situation when reached by phone and promised that everyone would be refunded.
"If people have bought tickets from me and don't have the physical tickets, they've been instructed to reach out to me to be refunded or get their tickets," Klein said.
Klein also confirmed that Wallen's lawyers sent him a cease-and-desist letter on July 17, ordering him to stop selling tickets and meet-and-greet packages for Wallen.
"Some of the stuff that was being sold, whether it was meet and greets or other things, did those things ever exist? Did you have access to those?" I asked.
"Yes, 100%. Yes," Klein said.
Michigan's ticketing platform, AXS, said it has no business relationship with Klein or Hailgate. Ticketmaster, which is hosting other stops on the Wallen tour, said Wallen does not offer meet-and-greets.
Not everyone who bought tickets through Klein had a negative experience. Nate Whitney said he bought 12 tickets and shared proof that all of them arrived this week.
“I bought 12 tickets. He told me if I bought a group that I would have the tickets the week of the concert... I got 'em this week like promised,” Whitney said. "I've bought jerseys off him, I've bought other things and I've had zero issues."
Alex Lucas said she once had great experiences with Klein as well.
"Everything went smooth with that one. I can't complain," Lucas said of Big Ten tickets she purchased through Klein.
But Lucas said last year during the 2025 season, she bought tickets to two University of Michigan football games, but the tickets never came. She said she's still owed over $1,700.
"I would like for him to do the right thing and refund these people — refund my family and I," Lucas said.
Police in Plymouth Township, where Hailgate is based, confirmed they have received reports related to Klein.
The University of Michigan also said it has no business relationship with Klein. David Ablauf, the school's associate athletic director for football, said in a statement:
"Michigan Athletics has never had a business relationship with John Klein.
Before last football season, we were made aware of some issues by parents within the football program, who dealt with him from an NIL standpoint, as well as former student-athletes who had issues with Klein.
As part of our annual student-athlete education efforts, we remind our student-athletes to do their homework and research regarding the individuals with whom they are making business arrangements. That message is reinforced frequently throughout the year.
On multiple occasions, our licensing agency has sent Klein cease and desist letters regarding unlicensed merchandise that he was selling."
Yelencich said she feels for those who may not make it to the shows.
"I feel bad for the people that thought this was their way in to a very, very expensive event and unfortunately, they're not going to be there on Friday or Saturday," Yelencich said.
AXS says anyone impacted by this situation can contact them to share details. The platform also advises fans to only purchase tickets through official sources.
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This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
