This week’s ticket sales process for “zillenial” comedian Matt Rife are drawing comparisons with Taylor Swift – and not in a good way. The up-and-coming comic, who has millions of followers on social media and a reputation for interacting with crowds, saw major issues during the presales for his ProbleMATTic world tour, which drew another rash of negative headlines for Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster, which are promoting and ticketing most dates.
Meltdowns and surging prices drew significant comparisons to the process for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour last fall, though admittedly on a slightly smaller scale (Rife’s general sale wasn’t cancelled entirely using the myth that it was fully sold-out, for example)
“From long hours spent in the queue to inflated prices, thousands of tweets voiced their experience of trying to purchase tickets, mirroring the complaints shared during other messy Ticketmaster pre-sales in recent months,” reads coverage of the messy process from USA Today. Rife’s tickets went on sale to the general public on Friday, after days of complaints from fans over how chaotic things were once more with Ticketmaster.
The 27-year-old comic is embarking on his first major tour, announcing a sprawling run of more than 100 dates across 2023 and 2024 at the beginning of the week. Demand was apparently high enough to warrant the expansion of many stops with extra shows, but even that wasn’t enough to keep fans off of social media to complain, with a particular focus on the dodgy Ticketmaster systems and the use of price-surging “dynamic” ticket pricing.
The way we went from $30 a ticket to $200+ for Matt Rife. I’ll watch the show when it comes out on Netflix. 🥰🥰🥰 pic.twitter.com/YkXciRHfRD
— Kit’tanna O'Connor 💕🇹🇹 (@MissKBO) June 6, 2023
trying to get tickets to Matt Rife’s DC show reminded me why I despise ticketmaster so much. how is that every seat I pressed on… “another fan beat me to it” yet i’d refresh and the seat was still there
— jazz (@TheJazzyT) June 6, 2023
Ticketmaster did the same thing with Matt Rife that they did with Taylor Swift and I’m ready to burn something down
— Maddie (@MaddieJones22) June 6, 2023
Sat on my laptop for two hours, tried joining the queue to get matt rife tickets, just to continue to receive a 403 error and then miss tickets. CAN WE FUCKING CANCEL @Ticketmaster yet?! It’s annoying as shit!!!
— boopedboop (@anon_thx) June 9, 2023
Tried to get Matt rife ticket again on Ticketmaster and got to the spot where you purchase the tickets and there wasn’t any to purchase. Waited 15 min in the queue for nothing. Getting tickets should not be this hard… @mattrife #ticketmastersucks pic.twitter.com/1llXamSIKU
— Carleen Fouts (@cfaith2020) June 9, 2023
I feel personally victimized by Matt Rife and Ticketmaster
— jos. 🧜🏼♀️ (@princess__jos) June 6, 2023
Rife himself hopped on social media to defend the ticket pricing for his tour, claiming that “resellers” were to blame. But that doesn’t pass muster when fans were complaining about the pricing on the primary market, though that hasn’t really ever stopped any artist from trying.
for people buying/trying to buy matt rife tickets, buy them on his website ☝️☝️ pic.twitter.com/hSB0sCOEal
— Shay (@cloudybxnnie) June 7, 2023
For those who are still hoping to catch Matt Rife on tour, there are plenty of opportunities to do so – but it would be advised to wait out the market until things cool off from this initial storm. Prices are currently ranging at well above the initial face value on resale marketplaces like Ticket Club – one quick look at a Saturday, September 30 show in San Diego has a “get-in” price of over $200, with seats close to the stage seeing closer to an $800 asking price. Those figures will undoubtedly cool down for those who can wait out the hype.
For those who can’t, there’s links to multiple ticket resale marketplaces and a full schedule of his shows below:
Ticket Links
Matt Rife tickets at MEGASeats | 15% off use code TICKETNEWS
Matt Rife tickets at ScoreBig
Matt Rife tickets at SeatGeek
Matt Rife tickets at StubHub
Matt Rife tickets at Ticket Club | Free Membership use code TICKETNEWS
Matt Rife tickets at Vivid Seats
Matt Rife Tour Dates – Problemmatic World Tour
2023 NORTH AMERICA DATES:
Thu Jul 20 – Bend, OR | Hayden Homes Amphitheater
Fri Jul 21 – Salem, OR | Historic Elsinore Theatre
Sat Jul 22 – Tacoma, WA | Pantages Theatre
Sun Jul 23 — Spokane, WA | Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox
Thu Jul 27 — Norfolk, VA | Chrysler Hall Theatre
Tue Aug 01 – Waterloo, NY | del Lago Resort & Casino
Wed Aug 02 – Waterloo, NY|– del Lago Resort & Casino
Thu Aug 03 – Waterloo, NY | del Lago Resort & Casino
Fri Aug 04 – Niagara, ON | Fallsview Casino Resort
Sat Aug 05 – Niagara, ON | Fallsview Casino Resort
Fri Aug 18 – Atlantic City, NJ | Ocean Casino Resort
Sat Aug 19 – Atlantic City, NJ | Ocean Casino Resort
Sun Aug 20 – Atlantic City, NJ | Ocean Casino Resort
Fri Sep 01 – Indio, CA | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
Sat Sep 02 – Indio, CA | Fantasy Springs Resort Casino
Fri Sep 08 — Las Vegas, NV | The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Sat Sep 09 — Las Vegas, NV | The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Fri Sep 22 — Washington, DC | DAR Constitution Hall – LIVE TAPING
Sat Sep 23 — Washington, DC | DAR Constitution Hall – LIVE TAPING
Thu Sep 28 — Fresno, CA | William Saroyan Theatre
Sat Sep 30 — San Diego, CA | San Diego Civic Theatre
Sun Oct 01 — Riverside, CA | Fox Performing Arts Center
Wed Oct 04 — Orlando, FL | Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Thu Oct 05 — St. Petersburg, FL | Duke Energy Center for the Arts – Mahaffey Theater
Fri Oct 06 — Hollywood, FL | Hard Rock Live
Sat Oct 07 — Jacksonville, FL | Moran Theater
Sun Oct 08 — Pensacola, FL | Saenger Theatre
Wed Oct 11 — Columbus, OH | Palace Theatre
Fri Oct 13 — Cincinnati, OH | The Andrew J Brady Music Center
Sat Oct 14 — Akron, OH | Akron Civic Theater
Sun Oct 15 — Indianapolis, IN | Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
Wed Oct 18 — St. Louis, MO | Stifel Theatre
Thu Oct 19 — Wichita, KS | Century II Concert Hall
Fri Oct 20 —Tulsa, OK | Tulsa Ballroom at Cox Business Convention Center
Sat Oct 21 — Kansas City, MO | Kansas City Music Hall
Thu Oct 26 — Durham, NC | Durham Performing Arts Center
Sat Oct 28 — Savannah, GA | Johnny Mercer Theatre
Sun Oct 29 — Birmingham, AL | BJCC Concert Hall
Thu Nov 02 — Ames, IA | Stephens Auditorium
Fri Nov 03 — Cedar Rapids, IA | Paramount Theatre
Sat Nov 04 — Omaha, NE | Steelhouse Omaha
Wed Nov 15 — Fort Worth, TX | Will Rogers Auditorium
Thu Nov 16 — Irving, TX | The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Fri Nov 17 — Sugar Land, TX | Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land
Sat Nov 18 — Austin, TX | ACL Live at The Moody Theater
Sun Nov 19 — San Antonio, TX | Majestic Theatre
Fri Nov 24 – Los Angeles, CA | Dolby Theatre
Wed Nov 29 – Santa Rosa, CA | Luther Burbank Center for the Arts
Sat Dec 02 – Sacramento, CA | Sacramento Memorial Auditorium
Thu Dec 07 — Charleston, SC | North Charleston Performing Arts Center
Fri Dec 08 — Columbia, SC | Township Auditorium
Sat Dec 09 — Evans, GA | Columbia County Performing Arts Center
Sun Dec 10 — Charlotte, NC | Ovens Auditorium
Sun Dec 31 — Louisville, KY | The Louisville Palace
PROBLEMATTIC WORLD TOUR – 2024 AUSTRALIA DATES:
Thu Jan 11 — Perth, WA | Perth Concert Hall
Sat Jan 13 — Brisbane, QLD | Fortitude Music Hall
Fri Jan 19 — Sydney, NSW | State Theatre
Sat Jan 20 — Melbourne, VIC | Hamer Hall
PROBLEMATTIC WORLD TOUR – 2024 NORTH AMERICA DATES:
Wed Jan 31 — Schenectady, NY | Proctors Theatre
Fri Feb 02 — New York, NY | Radio City Music Hall
Wed Feb 07 — Milwaukee, WI | The Riverside Theater
Thu Feb 08 — Grand Rapids, MI | Devos Hall
Fri Feb 09 — Detroit, MI | The Fillmore Detroit
Wed Feb 14 — Bloomington, IN | IU Auditorium
Thu Feb 15 — Knoxville, TN | Knoxville Civic Auditorium
Fri Feb 16 — Memphis, TN | Orpheum Theatre
Sat Feb 17 — New Orleans, LA | Saenger Theatre
Fri Feb 23 – Uncasville, CT | Mohegan Sun Arena
Sat Feb 24 – Uncasville, CT | Mohegan Sun Arena
Wed Feb 28 — Sioux Falls, SD | Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science
Thur Feb 29 –- Duluth, MN | Duluth Entertainent Convention Center
Fri Mar 01 — Minneapolis, MN | State Theatre
Thu Mar 07 — Saskatoon, SK | TCU Place
Fri Mar 08 — Regina, SK | Conexus Arts Centre
Sat Mar 09 — Winnipeg, MB | Burton Cummings Theatre
Wed Mar 13 — Victoria, BC | Royal Theatre
Thu Mar 14 — Vancouver, BC | Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Fri Mar 15 — Edmonton, AB | Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
Sun Mar 17 — Calgary, AB | Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons
Wed Mar 20 — London, ON | Centennial Hall
Thu Mar 21 — Toronto, ON | Massey Hall
Sun Mar 24 — Hamilton, ON | FirstOntario Concert Hall
Thu Mar 28 – Waterloo, NY | del Lago Resort & Casino
Fri Mar 29 – Waterloo, NY | del Lago Resort & Casino
Sat Mar 30 – Syracuse, NY | Landmark Theatre
Thu Apr 04 — Salt Lake City, UT | Kingsbury Hall
Fri Apr 05 – Denver, CO | Bellco Theatre
Fri Apr 12 — Oakland, CA | Paramount Theatre
Thu Apr 18 — Portland, ME | Merrill Auditorium
Fri Apr 19 — Boston, MA | MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Thu Apr 25 — Pittsburgh, PA | Benedum Center
Fri Apr 26 — Philadelphia, PA | The Met
Sun Apr 28 — Richmond, VA | Altria Theater
Thu May 09 — Portland, OR | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Fri May 10 — Seattle, WA | Paramount Theatre
Thu May 16 — Tucson, AZ | Linda Ronstadt Music Hall
Fri May 17 — Phoenix, AZ | Arizona Financial Theatre
Thu May 30 — Chicago, IL | The Chicago Theatre
Thu Jun 06 — Nashville, TN | Ryman Auditorium
PROBLEMATTIC WORLD TOUR – 2024 EUROPE DATES:
Tue Sep 03 — Glasgow, UK | SEC Armadillo
Fri Sep 06 — Birmingham, UK | Utilita Arena Birmingham
Sat Sep 07 – Cardiff, UK | Cardiff International Arena
Tue Sep 10 — Newcastle, UK | O2 City Hall Newcastle
Fri Sep 13 — Manchester, UK | O2 Apollo
Tue Sep 17 — London, UK | Eventim Apollo
Fri Sep 20 — Bristol, UK | Bristol Beacon
Sat Sep 28 – Dublin, IE | 3Olympia Theatre
Tue Oct 01 — Paris, FR | Alhambra Paris
Sat Oct 05 – Amsterdam, NL | Royal Theatre Carré
Tue Oct 08 – Berlin, DE | Huxleys Neue Welt
Sun Oct 13 – Stockholm, SE | Nya Cirkus
Fri Oct 18 – Madrid, ES | Teatro Pavón
Sun Oct 20 – Milan, IT | Santeria Toscana 31
