Ever since teen sensation Olivia Rodrigo released her first single, “drivers license,” in January 2021, dedicated fans have been awaiting the day the chart-topping artist would release tour dates. Luckily enough, this past week Rodrigo announced her SOUR tour, beginning in April 2022 and wrapping up in July 2022. 

This announcement had committed fans unable to contain their excitement, as Rodrigo has been publicized for having 60 million monthly listeners on Spotify this past calendar year. However, as fans went to Ticketmaster or other ticket sites, they could see two major disappointment factors involving the SOUR tour. First, Rodrigo will be performing at smaller venues as she has decided to not perform at arenas, and secondly, even if one manages to get a ticket, they will be spending hundreds and maybe even nearly a thousand dollars. 

When fans went to purchase tickets, most were met with a loading screen or errors, making it impossible to even get into the window. Tickets sold out within minutes of being available and are now being resold for thousands of dollars. Tickets for the San Francisco show have reached a reselling price of $9,000 according to the SFGATE. 

With this being Rodrigo’s first tour, she is choosing an up-and-coming artist route, as that is why she is starting in smaller venues before hitting larger venues. Rodrigo is performing in venues like ballrooms and theaters that generally only contain a small number of seats, creating a very large ratio between tickets available and fans wanting to attend her tour. 

“[The tour] is scheduled to launch in April and play theaters, including the Greek in L.A. and New York’s Radio City Music Hall, rather than going straight into the arenas she likely could fill. ‘I don’t think I should skip any steps,’ said Rodrigo.” according to Mikael Wood from Los Angeles Times.

Having such a large-sized fan base, it is no surprise Rodrigo is experiencing backlash for the decisions involving her tour. Rodrigo’s social media comments are filled with messages like “I hope this can be organized better next time,” “I hope your team will arrange bigger and better venues” and “it was literally impossible to get tickets, the website wouldn’t load at all.” Despite Rodrigo’s reputation, she has let down thousands of fans. 

As Rodrigo became aware of how many fans felt scammed or betrayed by how her tour was laid out, she came onto social media to bring peace to the situation. Rodrigo posted a picture with a caption explaining, “If you weren’t able to get tickets this time around there will be more tours in the future, and I can’t wait to see you then!!!” 

“Her hopeful ‘there will be more tours in the future’ message aims to extinguish the anxiety her fans experienced earlier Friday morning trying to purchase tickets, as Twitter was up in flames… and how many technical difficulties they encountered on Ticketmaster’s website. Yeah, it was brutal out there, to say the least,” said Heran Mamo from Billboard.