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how to save money on concert tickets
Attending live music has gotten absurdly expensive. this page is to serve as a guide for any boston resident or visitor on how to save money on concert tickets, and even get a ticket to an in-demand or sold-out concert!
Here you will find information on: Box Office Hours, a breakdown of each venue (and where I think the best seats are located), how to save money on tickets (spoiler alert: BY GOING TO THE BOX OFFICE), and my own personal hack on how to get tickets to those incredibly in-demand shows
IMPORTANT!! If the event is not sold out online (read: there are still face-value tickets available on the venue's main ticketing platform, i.e. Ticketmaster or AXS), then there are tickets available at the box office for purchase.
Tickets to shows that are sold out online will not be available at the box office except in certain circumstances.. which I break down below in my venue guide
Orpheum Theater
No fees added to the ticket purchase
Fenway Park
$7.50 flat fee added to every ticket purchased
IMPORTANT: Tickets to shows at Fenway Park are not available at the Orpheum box office on the day of the show. They are only available at the Fenway Park box office. More on that in my venue breakdown below
Leader Bank Pavilion
$3 flat feet added to each ticket purchased
MGM Music Hall at Fenway
$3.50 flat feet added to each ticket purchased
House of Blues
No fees added to the ticket purchase
Paradise Rock Club
No fees added to the ticket purchase
BIGGEST TICKET-SAVING HACK: GO TO THE BOX OFFICE!
I cannot even begin to describe to you the amount of money I have saved by going to the box office to purchase tickets to concerts, stage plays, and musicals! This section of the page will break down the main box offices that are consistently accessible, and then the next section will delve into: each concert venue in Boston, its box office hours, and where I think the best seats are located (if applicable).
Main Box Office Location #1
Orpheum Theatre
Location: 1 Hamilton Pl, Boston, MA 02108
If taking public transit, take the Red Line to Park St, and then exit so you are at the corner of Park St and Tremont St (facing the Park St Church and across from Burger King & the Bank of America ATM. You'll then cross the street and make a left, and then make a right when you see a dead-end alley way with "ORPHEUM THEATER" in big black letters (below the ad for the Corner Mall) at the end of the alleyway.
Hours: Every Friday (Except holidays) from 12pm-5pm
You can enter the box office by going through the door on the farthest left corner. If there is an older gentlemen working in the booth, his name is John, and he is absolutely wonderful - he has worked there for years and has so many great stories about the bands and artists that have performed at the Orpheum. Tell him that Ryan sent you!
Venues the Orpheum Box Office Serves
You can buy tickets to events at the venues listed below (which are all Live Nation venues) for no or minimal service fees. For context/an example on why going to the box office is so beneficial: purchasing a ticket to a Fenway concert on the MLB site can cost you up to $50 in additional fees ON TOP of the price of the ticket. Purchasing a ticket to a Fenway show at the Orpheum theater will only cost you $7.50 on top of the face value price of the ticket. Essentially, going to the box office can save you, at minimum, 30% of the cost of a ticket online.
Main Box Office Location #2
The Sinclair
Location: 52 Church St, Cambridge, MA 02138
If taking public transit, take the Red Line to Harvard, then go to the street that is behind Felipe's. The Sinclair is in a little enclave up a flight of stairs.
Hours: Every Friday (Except holidays) from 12pm-6pm
Venues the Sinclair Box Office Servces
You can buy tickets to events at the venues listed below (which are all AXS-related venues) for no additional fees at all. So long as a ticket is still available on the AXS website for that venue (THAT IS NOT A RESALE TICKET), you can buy it at the box office
The Sinclair
Royale
Roadrunner
You can determine the price of a ticket at the Sinclair box office by viewing the cost of the ticket in the AXS app or website and not include the service fees. For example, if a ticket to a show at Roadrunner costs $45 with $17.77 in additional fees on the AXS site (totaling $62.77), then the cost of that ticket at the Sinclair Box Office would be $45.00. Full stop.
Suffolk Downs
BOSTON VENUE BREAKDOWN
This section will delve into each venue location in Boston & the greater Eastern MA area and include: box office information, best seat locations, tips/tricks/hacks on how to have a good experience, and any other insider information I can provide.
[COMING SOON!]
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