Hoping to see Calvin Harris in Vancouver? You might be out of luck

Electronic dance music DJ Calvin Harris is coming to Rogers Arena on May 16, 2027. But it looks like many fans will miss the show.

Following initial Spotify and artist presales, the public ticket sale started at noon on Oct. 22. Vancouver fans were stunned to find the show almost entirely sold out not long after the sale went live, with controversial dynamic pricing kicking in on the remaining tickets.

Logging on to the Ticketmaster site at 12:26 p.m. revealed an online queue to buy tickets, and only verified resale tickets remained at that point. Those tickets started at $869.64 for first row in the 300 section. Lower levels were averaging $1,100-plus, and standing room floor spots started around $1,400.

Reddit threads bemoaning the limited availability and sky-high resale prices quickly appeared, including some suggesting a change of venue to B.C. Place due to the demand.

Prices for Harris’ Toronto show appeared to be a deal by comparison, with starting ticket cost appearing to be around $590 for the upper levels.

Demand for the Grammy and Brit award-winning Scottish DJ’s concerts is extremely high. But many fans have also been left with the impression that resellers and purchase bots may have been able to game the presale system to their advantage in many markets where Harris has booked gigs.

Face-value ticket prices are set by the artist, but resale is often built around speculation and demand. Read our explainer on why concert ticket prices are so high in Canada HERE.

Many fans bemoaned the artist not opting out of the controversial dynamic pricing system, where demand fuels price surges making artists and presenters higher profits.

The list of artists actively rejecting surging prices on demand and opting into programs such as Ticketmaster Face Value Exchange to keep tickets more affordable for fans includes artists such as Neil Young, The Foo Fighters and Billie Eilish. Taylor Swift also opted out of dynamic pricing/surge models on The Eras Tour.

sderdeyn@postmedia.com