THE SUMMER CONCERT season is in full swing, but a string of gigs this June have not sold out, unlike other years.
Social media platforms have been flooded with people trying to offload tickets to gigs in Dublin, Cork and Limerick.
The Journal spotted people trying to sell tickets to big artists such as Kodaline (€62.35 – €73.20) and Zach Bryan (€134-€163), who played Dublin, Belfast and Cork last week.
Tickets for last night’s Lewis Capaldi show in Limerick (€88.65–€98.65) and for The Cure (€88.80–€98.80) in Dublin’s Marlay Park were also being offered for sale just days beforehand, as were tickets for Florence and The Machine, who play Marlay Park tomorrow (€77.45–€87.45).
Ruth (29) from Dublin went to CMAT in Virgin Media Park (capacity 15,000) in Cork with some friends last Saturday. Zach Bryan also played Páirc Uí Caoimh on the same night. The Cork stadium has a 40,000 people for a concert.
Given that there are so many gigs scheduled at the same time, Ruth thinks audiences are split on who to go to.
“I think the reason so many people were selling tickets to concerts last weekend was because there was so much happening at one time,” Ruth said. “There was Olivia Dean and Kodaline in Dublin obviously, but the fact that Zach Bryan and CMAT were on the same day in Cork was mad, given that they both make country music.”
Music writer Robyn Homeniuk told The Journal that despite the glut of gigs this summer, people are generally “less engaged”.
She attended Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds at Malahide Castle on 10 June, a gig that was “the most empty she has ever seen a concert in Malahide”.
“I had no idea what was going on there, I was just like, ‘Are people just not coming to this gig?’ I saw Nick Cave headlining All Together Now a couple of years ago and the vibes were completely different,” she said.
Second dates not selling out
Homeniuk reckons that there isn’t as much demand for concerts this year as Ticketmaster would make you believe.
She points out that Lewis Capaldi, Lily Allen and Dermot Kennedy all announced second dates due to “phenomenal demand”, but those second dates have not sold out yet.
“I actually sold my ticket for Lewis Capaldi in Limerick on 26 June for €75, at a 25% discount,” she said.
“These gigs are meant to be so difficult to get tickets for,” she continued, saying that it used to feel like a mad dash to get tickets after Covid.
“Everyone was desperate to be in a communal space again, but that’s now eased down a bit and I am starting to believe that these extra dates are not because of demand, but because they were maybe already booked in before the gigs were announced.”
Supply and demand
Aoife (27) from Offaly said that because gigs go on sale so far in advance, it’s often hard to know what you might have to prioritise closer to the time of the concert.
She bought tickets to one of last weekend’s Olivia Dean shows in Marlay Park in August 2025 when they first went on sale, but has since entered a new relationship. A member of her boyfriend’s family was getting married on the day of the concert and as a result, Aoife had to sell the ticket to go to the wedding with him.
She managed to sell the Olivia Dean for face value because the concert was in demand, but lost money on another concert ticket she had to sell.
“I have a friend who I was supposed to attend another concert with in July. She has lost her job since purchasing the tickets and can no longer afford to go to Dublin for the night for the concert,” she said.
“I understand a lot of preparation goes into organising these events and they need time, but as an adult, I often find it hard to plan a few weeks in advance, let alone months-to-a-year in advance.”
“I dropped the price because I wanted to get rid of the second ticket,” she said.
Michael Murphy, a music industry lecturer at Dún Laoghaire Institute Of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), says that people selling concert tickets is a basic supply and demand issue – with an element of hype thrown in.
Ticketmaster is not just in the business of selling tickets but also of marketing them. People may feel like they have to snap up tickets to what is going to be a popular gig when they first go on sale.
Ultimately, however, supply and demand can ultimately catch up with each other, and that may be what we’re currently seeing. Concert tickets have become a “commodity to be traded, almost like a mini stock exchange”, Murphy said.
“Traditionally, the model in the music industry was that bands went on tour to sell the album, but that has flipped, and the money is in touring,” he said.
Artists are increasingly touring outside of album cycles and Murphy suggests that because one artist may be good to play for 200,000 people in Dublin one year, the same demand may not be there for the same artist in the following year or two.
Zach Bryan is an example of this. The US country artist has played four concerts in Ireland this summer – two in Cork and two in Belfast – after playing three nights in Phoenix Park to over 160,000 people in 2024.
However, despite selling out the Phoenix Park two years ago, tickets were still available for this month’s gigs just beforehand.
Expensive tickets – and everything else
Shannon in Dublin told The Journal that the price of concerts was a factor in her deciding to sell her tickets to Kodaline in Malahide Castle last weekend.
“The tickets are expensive as it is and the price of drink and food when you are actually at the concert is so high that you would easily spend €70 extra when you are there. Personally, the thoughts of getting to and from Malahide Castle also put me off going because of how busy the Dart was going to be,” she said.
Ticket prices have been expensive for years now, but Homeniuk says the rise in the cost of “everything else” has made concerts feel more like a luxury than ever before.
Outdoor gigs are all costing around €100 this year, which Homeniuk says isn’t good value for money when you are going to see just one artist or band, compared to European festivals where that band may be playing.
She is flying to Madrid to see Florence and The Machine at the Mad Cool Festival in July, instead of seeing the band in Marlay Park on 28 June for this reason.
A day ticket costs €95 and there is the added bonus of being able to see multiple other artists throughout the day.
“All the artists coming to Ireland this summer are playing in other European countries at festivals, where you can buy a weekend ticket for €300. In Ireland, it is €100 per night for just one artist,” she said.
Anyway, it’s probably easier to get to and from Madrid than Marley Park, she joked.
Murphy, of IADT, said this summer’s surfeit of expensive, under-subscribed gigs could be good news for Ireland’s grassroots bands and venues.
“If the supply-and-demand curve meets at a place that people are feeling priced out, then something really interesting happens,” he said.
Ireland might be on the verge of a new DIY movement where smaller artists and venues might thrive if people are feeling tired of the big outdoor gigs. Smaller gigs and venues are still doing well, Murphy noted.
“The music industry often reinvents itself and I would be very confident in challenging people who say we’ve reached the peak gig moment. Maybe we’re just ready to hit this new DIY approach to concert promotion again,” he said.