Bands in Concert
Student story by Marvin E. 
As a big fan of music, a great North American city like Vancouver is probably one of the most exciting places to live close to. The most popular artists play at least one show of their tour in Vancouver and many more unknown artists also play in smaller venues around the city. While you’re there, you should definitely watch out for ongoing concerts. You might be in for a great night with Adele, Ed Sheeran or Drake…
Buying tickets
In most cases you will have to go through ticketmaster to purchase your tickets online, which will add considerable fees to the original price of the ticket. For example: I bought tickets for the Childish Gambino concert in Rogers Arena which is located in downtown Vancouver. The face value of the ticket was 90 CAD. After taxes and fees, I paid a total of 120 CAD. I feared the show would be sold out quickly, so I bought my tickets early. However, if you can wait, resale tickets will pop up on websites like Stubhub and you will likely pay less than face value, with less fees involved. Obviously, there is no guarantee the concert won’t be sold out and you might not find any tickets lower than the original price. Another idea, if you’re very flexible, is to go to the arena o
n the day of the concert and ask for tickets there. You will have better luck going alone or in a small group if you want to sit together, but you will likely be able to purchase a ticket. I used this method to purchase a ticket for one of the Drake shows in Rogers Arena because I was visiting Vancouver on that weekend anyway.
Where to see and experience music
In the vancouver area, there are numerous smaller venues for local artists in the city, for example the stadium at UBC, which host less popular artists. If you want to see a concert at Roger’s Arena while on a budget, don’t be afraid of taking the cheapest tickets. The picture shows me seated right below the roof in the highest possible section and still the view was great! Luckily the stage was located in the middle of the arena, but you won’t be incredibly far from the stage anyway. So, if you like music and enjoy life shows it pays off living relatively close to Vancouver. You will be able to find shows of great artists in all imaginable genres, so you should be excited and keep your eyes open if an artist you like is visiting the city!
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