WILDWOOD — If you got your Barefoot Country Music Festival wristband from someplace not official you may want to double check to make sure it's real.

Wildwood police said some concertgoers for the first day of the four-day festival presented wristbands purchased through non-official sources that turned out to be fraudulent.

Police advised buying tickets only from the official festival Eventbrite page or to verify a wristband before purchase with an email to info@bcmf.com.  The concert promoter recommended not posting pictures of wristbands on social media and to avoid scalpers.

The Barefoot Country Music Festival continues Friday with headliner Dan + Shay on Friday, Carrie Underwood Saturday and the Zac Brown Band Sunday.

Exceeding expectations

Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron said the first day of the concert was incredible with perfect weather and a well behaved crowd of between 20,000 and 25,000

"You always have these ideas in your head about what you would hope to expect and I would say it exceeded all expectations. It went off without a hitch," Byron told New Jersey 101.5.

With large crowds expected daily at the festival and the surge in COVID-19 cases Byron is not concerned about it becoming a "super spreader" event despite the majority those at the concert being maskless although they were available.

"I think at this point people are accepting more personal responsibility. If you haven't had the COVID shot shame on you. Maybe you shouldn't indulge in activities such as this but that's not my decision. People need to take personal responsibility," Byron said.

The mayor said that if you are coming to the concert, the boardwalk is open for business with plenty or restaurant options. But there is one thing everyone needs to bring: patience.

"On a typical weekend we could have a quarter of a million people in the Wildwoods. Add another 25- or 30,000 visitors for this event, it's just going to make things slow," he said.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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