How to avoid costly concerts with these tips for affordable live music

At his venue in Aitkin, Minn. — about a two-hour drive north of the Twin Cities on U.S. 169 — Richard Lupu never charges more than $10 for a live performance.

But even that is sometimes too steep a cost for music lovers on a budget.

“For some folks up here, that $10 is a substantial hit,” said Lupu, who with his wife owns the community event space Sampaguita that also doubles as a record and instrument store. “There are conversations we have on a regular basis with the folks that live up here, and they’re saying, ‘Well, hey, we’d like to come,’ but it literally sometimes comes down to, ‘We can stock our fridge or we can go see live music,’ and the fridge usually wins out.”

After the pandemic impacted many people’s ability to make a living and with inflation continuing to sap paychecks, finding extra funds for discretionary fun can be difficult. That’s especially true for entertainment like concerts, as the average price of a ticket in 2023 was $122.84, according to live music trade publication Pollstar.

Whether you’re a devoted festival-goer or just looking for a casual night out, here are some practical tips for enjoying the Minnesota music scene without putting a strain on your bank account.

Minnesota boasts more than 230 craft breweries, according to the Brewers Association, and many of them showcase live music throughout the week.

Ryan Bandy, chief business officer at Indeed Brewing in Northeast Minneapolis, said the brewery hosts a family-friendly “Off the Dock” live music series for all genres throughout the summer . The live shows are free to attend (other than the cost of your beer of choice for about $8 or $9).

Bandy said it is “hit or miss” whether the brewery turns a profit on the live shows.

“Our goal is to keep people around for another beer,” Bandy said. “To me, that means you show up, you talk with your friends or go on a date, and you end up somewhere cool that feels good. You’ll be more likely to stay and enjoy the music than go to another spot.”

Minneapolis’ Surly Brewing has its Summer of Sound series of free, family-friendly shows every Sunday. There are countless other breweries around the cities that offer free live music, and most keep a calendar of events online so you can check out upcoming acts.

Your local brewery is probably not headlining the biggest names in music, but if you are down to discover new acts or support local musicians, the $0 cost of admittance is unbeatable.

Also in the summer, the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis host a variety of free concerts in parks. Visit the St. Paul’s Music in the Parks webpage to see a calendar of free outdoor live music. The Minneapolis Parks and Recreation webpage also keeps a list of summer music events. Just BYO snacks and lawn chairs or blankets.

At the end of 2023, Pollstar reported a 34% increase in concert attendance costs since 2018.

Live Nation, a mega-company the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating for alleged monopolistic practices in the live concert industry, controls 80% of venues and ticket sales nationwide. Despite the scrutiny, there are limited alternatives for consumers seeking concert tickets, but knowing when to snag tickets could be the key to saving money on live shows.

According to one Minnesota music expert, it might actually pay to procrastinate.

Patrick Amunson, owner of music publisher Amunson Audio in Rochester, has worked in the music industry for years and said music publishers are one of the main obstacles standing between consumers and affordable live music.

“Publishers and record labels of artists buy half the tickets to a show right when tickets are on sale,” Amunson said. “This limits the sheer number of tickets available and really drives up prices.”

However, Amunson said if you wait until the day before to buy your tickets, more tickets will be available, and the price will go down to even below the original price. That’s because the publishers now need to fill remaining seats in the venue.

“It’s a waiting game between you and their publisher and management team on who can wait it out the longest and sweat the most,” Amunson said. “They need to make their net return because they invested so much. So if you wait it out, you gain the upper hand in the end.”

One instance where this might not work is for very popular shows, like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. That sold out in the presale stage and never even went on general sale, so last-minute buyers were usually resigned to steep markups on second-hand ticketing sites like StubHub.

Many concert lovers can recall buying a ticket and noticing an additional service fee tacked on at checkout that sometimes even doubled your total cost.

Well, those fees are avoidable if you buy your tickets in person. Minneapolis is home to historic venues like First Avenue and the Armory that both have in-person box offices for shows and events.

According to First Avenue, for example, customers can buy tickets at their box office with only a $3 printing fee on top of the value of the ticket. Customers can also purchase tickets the day of the show at all First Avenue-affiliated venues after doors open with no fees attached.

This isn’t always feasible if you live far from the venue or worry the show will sell out online quickly.

The live music industry has plenty of volunteer opportunities that will provide you free entry in exchange for a little labor.

Many music festivals, venues and organizations, for example, need greeters, guest services representatives and more.

Emily Grondahl, chair of the Basilica Block Party that ran the first weekend in August, said the festival has relied on volunteers since its inception nearly 30 years ago.

“The Basilica Block Party is truly a homegrown local music festival at its heart,” Grondahl said. “We have a really deep history of being a volunteer-led and -driven event.”

Grondahl said volunteers can fill many different roles at the festival, from scanning tickets, to checking IDs or helping in the beverage tents. After their shifts, volunteers can enjoy the rest of the performances.

Organization REVERB allows you to sign up to work for different touring bands and their partner non-profits. It also works with festivals like Chicago’s famed Lollapalooza, which took place the first week of August this year.

You can apply for volunteering opportunities like this online through venue or organizer websites. You can also search for Facebook groups like “Traveling Festival/Concert/Event Crew Gig Opportunities.” These pages often post opportunities for people of varying experience levels to help out at local shows.

You can also find compensated work in some instances. Photographers, for example, can contact venues or festivals to see what opportunities there are to shoot the shows in exchange for money or photo promotion. Try smaller shows first, and in many cases, this can open the door to shooting larger shows and tours.

Writers or graphic designers can similarly leverage their talents and offer their services for designing posters and merch or managing social media to local bands and venues. And there are hundreds of online-based music magazines accepting and soliciting freelance articles or photos.