Do Minnesotans Have Concert Fatigue?

I saw something this week that ask this question; Do Americans Have Concert Fatigue? I honestly had to wonder for a minute what concert fatigue was.  

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There was a summer several years ago when I went to 7 or 8 shows in the span of a few months, mostly these were work related but still I was at a lot of concerts. After the last one, my wife and I agreed we weren’t going to go to another show for a while, so that’s what I thought concert fatigue was.  

What the article was talking about was really an overload of shows on tour at the same time. For instance, The Target Center had a Black Keys concert which was scheduled for November canceled. That was the fourth show this year canceled for The Target Center.  

Jennifer Lopez was the latest to scrap her plans to tour this summer, she did so late last week. Tickets just were not selling for the shows around the country.  

So, what really gives? From my standpoint there are a couple of things in play here. 

First, artists who haven’t released music in recent years are trying to get back on the road, living on their music from the past. That can work, if the band has a following, like The Dave Matthews Band. They’ve got a bit of a cult following. 

Hootie and the Blowfish have played a handful of shows in recent years but have a tour that is still planning on moving ahead this summer. So, it can work, but there’s got to be something that makes it appealing to fans.  

Secondly, I do think there are a lot of shows out there, and with everything costing more right now, concert tickets are no longer making it to the “must do” list. Groceries, Medicine, and other bills are taking up the money that used to be available. 

The third facet also has something to do with money, and the amount of shows too. What I mean is some of the most popular shows on the road right now are costing so much, there’s not money available for all the shows we would like to see.  

Artists like Morgan Wallen and Dua Lipa have had no problem selling out their shows in the last year or so.  

A quick google search says the average concert ticket costs around $225 each. Which is up significantly, to the tune of about a hundred dollars higher this year over last year.  

Keep in mind, with gas costing more for everybody, that is going to impact touring as well. All the buses and tractor trailers that are rolling around the country, that gas money has to come from somewhere, and a big part of that is from the fans.  

MarketWatch says that in 2022, the average American family's credit card debt was over $6,200, and you know that it's likely to be much higher now. At one time these cards were used for purchases like concert tickets, but more recently people have used them for necessities like groceries and gas.  

There may be sense that we don’t want to see certain artists in concert anymore, but I’ve got a feeling it’s more about what we’re paying for everything else, versus not wanting to see shows live.