NORFOLK, Va. — People who live in and around Hampton Roads can look forward to exciting summer and fall concert events as artists announce tour dates in the area.
Lil Wayne is set to perform in Virginia Beach this August, while Phish will take the stage in Hampton in September.
To help fans secure the best deals on tickets, I spoke with Matt Pitts, a Virginia Beach resident and avid concertgoer who has been attending shows for many years.
"My life always kind of revolved around concerts," Pitts said. "Someone said that I'm like, a professional fan."
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Over the years Pitts also developed a love of photography. He was able to find a way to morph the two and create a career as a live music photographer.
"I think one of the highlights of my career has been like, catching these artists as they, like, really, truly blossom. Something is here and something's about to happen with these artists," he said.
To navigate the ticket-buying landscape for other fans, Pitts shared his top tips for scoring the best prices.
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"Stay with those verified sellers. Try to stay away from the non-verified third-party sellers," he advised.
Pitts warns against making deals through direct messages or using payment apps like Apple Pay or Zelle for buying tickets. The applications aren't the problem, rather exchanging money with someone you don't know. There's also not much recourse for getting your money back after it's been sent.
Instead, he suggests signing up for newsletters or following your favorite artists on social media platforms, which can provide exclusive access and pre-sale codes for concerts.
"Sometimes you'll get these pre-sale codes that tell you, hey, this artist is going on tour before everybody else," Pitts said. "When you're following that artist, you get to get exclusive access to some things."
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Pitts has also used CashorTrade, which is a verified face-value ticket exchange. It operates so fans only pay what the ticket is worth, or less.
"Tyler Childers partnered with [CashorTrade] on his last tour, and that was really one of the only ways to get these third-party tickets," he said.
Pitts also reminded fans not to rush into purchases. He said he’s been able to buy tickets for a much cheaper price by waiting until the day of the event.
“I did that with Foo Fighters a couple of years ago. The resale tickets were like, in the $200s and $300s. I waited till the day of [the concert] I found them for $40. So, don't be afraid to wait till the last minute, because sometimes you'll find that miracle,” he said.
This article was researched, reported, and written by a WTKR News 3 journalist. AI was used to minimize typos and ensure style continuity.
