Concert tickets are my biggest expense in life because it’s my absolutely favorite activity (clearly). I find it difficult these days to spend more than $25 on a ticket, but will splurge if it’s a favorite artist.
Throughout my years of buying concert tickets I’ve found a few loopholes to purchasing tickets for a discounted rate (all totally legit, and not ripping the band off). I look at it like if I spend less on a ticket, I’m more likely to spend more money where the bands actually make money- merch (Remember how important merch is? If not, click here).
So here’s a few helpful tips for you..
Festival passes– The most obvious way to buy cheap concerts tickets for Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and Coachella passes is to purchase tickets early. Most festivals offer a limited number of early bird passes for a discounted rate. These passes work the same as basic weekend passes giving you entry to the entire festival. Depending on the festival, you can save quite a bit of money (as much as say $100…). I would just like to know why Summerfest hasn’t caught on to a weeklong, any time pass like these festivals…
Vouchers– Ever drink a Diet Coke and see the code printed on the inside of the cover? This is called a Coke Reward and from time to time you can use these codes to earn free money for concert tickets! I always try to be thrifty and from time to time enter these codes for free soda coupons online (I’ll admit, I’m a Diet Coke JUNKIE). Last time I went to redeem my 800 points I noticed that Coke is now partnered with Live Nation. You can turn your points in for vouchers to use with select Live Nation venues. It’s a $10 voucher, but you can use it until the end of the year on a variety of shows. Of course I couldn’t help but order these and look forward to using them the next time I buy cheap concert tickets to see someone like Weezer. (Click here for more information.)
Drink Tickets– Watch your local venue for cheap concert tickets. For example, The Rave in Milwaukee offers free tickets with a two drink purchase. They send you into this creepy bar in the basement of the venue where you pay around $20-$25 (depending on the artist). You get a ticket to the concert as well as two tickets for any drink you wish. Now, if you sit back and think about it, that’s probably the most expensive beer you will ever drink (A MILLER FOR $11 WHAAAAT?!), but I like to think of it as a concert ticket with FREE drinks.
Win Tickets– It takes luck to win a contest, but with social media it’s much easier than being caller seven at your local radio station. No one wants to sit through three hours of horrible Clear Channel purchased music because they’re too cheap or poor to buy concert tickets. Instead, log into Twitter or Facebook and follow or befriend your local venues and promoters. Watch their feeds to see when they offer giveaways. Often you just have to retweet the contest to enter or write a comment on their Facebook wall. Near effortless.