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Lady Gaga’s ‘Mayhem Ball’ Tour Faces Fan Backlash Over Steep Ticket Prices

Some seats are going for over $1,000, and fans are not happy

Image via Fred Duval / Shutterstock

Lady Gaga is extending her Mayhem Ball tour with new North American dates, but not everyone is celebrating—fans are voicing their frustration over the high ticket prices.

Kicking off July 16 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, the newly added tour stops include major cities like Seattle, New York, Miami, Toronto, and Chicago. Gaga, who initially wasn’t planning on touring this year beyond her Singapore shows, shared that the overwhelming response to her new album inspired her to bring the Mayhem Ball experience to more fans.

"This show is designed to be the kind of theatrical and electrifying experience that brings MAYHEM to life exactly how I envision it,” she wrote in a statement on X.

However, ticket prices for these shows have left many fans frustrated. During the Citi presale on March 31, prices for seats ranged from several hundred dollars in the nosebleed sections to over $1,000 in the lower levels. Many fans blame Ticketmaster’s controversial dynamic pricing system, which increases prices based on demand—a strategy that has drawn widespread backlash across the industry.

The debate over dynamic pricing isn’t new. Artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Noah Kahan, and Green Day have faced similar criticism, while others, including Iron Maiden and The Cure, have actively rejected the system in an effort to keep tickets affordable for fans. Most recently, Neil Young announced he would no longer sell "Platinum" tickets through Ticketmaster, saying that artists making increasingly large sums from ticket sales made him uncomfortable.

More presales for the Mayhem Ball tour, including a Verizon presale, continue through April 2, with general ticket sales opening April 3 at 12 p.m. local time.