In 2023, fans of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé popularized gig-tripping. Today, fans of Bad Bunny—or “Los Conejos”—are crossing the continent for their hero’s world tour.
It ’s hard to suppose a more consecrated Bad Bunny fan than Nomar Mejias . The 22 - year - old from Guayama , a small metropolis on the southeastern coast ofPuerto Rico , has been a devotee of the global superstar since 2017 . Since then , he ’s seen the performer five times , including his headline carrying out at Coachella in 2023 . Mejias also conserve aBad Bunny buff pageon X ( formerly Twitter ) with more than 200,000 following where he meticulously documents the performer ’s duty tour .
“ I begin to listen to Bad Bunny after Hurricane Maria , ” Mejias says of the 2017 violent storm that had a devastating essence on Puerto Rico . Mejias cites Bad Bunny ’s pride in where he ’s from , and how he passes that along to a orbicular fan base , as what draws him to the artist . “ Everything he does is for Puerto Rico . ”
When it comes to fans going the distance to see a show , 2023 was undoubtedly the yr of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé . US lover of bothtrekked all over the worldin search of more affordable choice butt . With each stop the stars made , they lefta profound economicandcultural shock . To wit : Swift ’s Eras tour was , among many other thing , the first ever to gross more than $ 1 billion . It was also reportedly the cause of a minor earthquake in Seattle , was the source of XII of think art object , and remind a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia detailing the encroachment it had ontourism .
Art by Caitlyn Grabenstein for Thrillist
This twelvemonth , it ’s unlikely that Bad Bunny will exhaust out Swift ’s disk - setting go sales event , but when it comes to artist - focused travel , 2024 seems to be his yr . In 2022 , he became the only artist in story to have two tours in a single year that grossed more than $ 100 million each with El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo and World ’s Hottest Tour . Since then , he ’s headline Coachella , performed at the Grammys , host and was a melodious node onSaturday Night Live , played the love interest of Gael Bernal Garcia in the critically acclaimed biopicCassandró , and released the albumNadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana . With each fresh projection , the military capability of Bad Bunny ’s gravitative wrench increases , and the Most Wanted Tour is a fresh chance to be in his sphere .
“ You ca n’t get around the fact that we ’re in this major historical minute for Romance medicine that Bad Bunny has been a really huge part of , ” says Dr. Vanessa Diaz , associate professor of Chicana / o and Latina / o Studies at Loyola Marymount University and the co - Jehovah of theBad Bunny Syllabus Project , an pedantic initiative documenting Bad Bunny ’s cultural impact . “ I imagine everyone want to be a part of that history . ”
In the US , virtually one in fivetravelerswould be willing to take a long flightin order to see their favorite creative person in concert . name gig tripping , the trend capture the post - pandemic desire not just for in - person experiences but to be part of a substantial popping cultural event .
Welcome to the gig tripping era.|Peter Fitzpatrick/ALDÍA News/Getty Images
When ticket for the Most Wanted Tour endure on cut-rate sale in October , the immediate reply was sticker shock ( the mediocre ticket for city like New York and Philadelphia hovered around $ 700 ) . But that shock did n’t tedious exuberance — it plainly created another subgenre of Bad Bunny social depicted object , from memes toTikTok creatorsdedicated to producing depicted object about fluctuatingBad Bunny ticket pricesand where you’re able to get the best deal on seats .
Diaz says we should n’t be surprised by the level of commitment we ’re seeing from fans — or the extortionate ticket prices . “ I do n’t think he ’s doing anything other major melodic superstar do n’t do , right ? ” she asks . “ The surprisal here is that it ’s a Latin euphony artist who perform in Spanish who can dominate this sort of pricing and this consistency with book - breaking in full term of cyclosis and sales and tours . ”
Part of what draw in Bad Bunny ’s fans to him , and has built such a stiff community , is the fact that he has n’t made the switch to English - lyric functioning to cater to a wider audience . “ the great unwashed really , unfeignedly finger his genuineness because of his whole glide slope , the ‘ I do what I require . I am who I am . I do n’t care what you think , ’ ” says Diaz . “ It hyperbolise this feeling that we ’re always get the existent Bad Bunny all the fourth dimension . ”
Bad Bunny performs in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2021.|Gladys Vega/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images
Bad Bunny has announced tour date only in the contiguous US thus far , but already fans have demonstrate they will go any distance to see him perform and are building experience around that travel .
When the Most precious Tour stops were announce , Sabrina Riley , 30 , love she ’d need to go the distance . “ Bad Bunny is not make out to St. Louis this year , ” Riley says , citing Kansas City and Nashville as her good choice . “ I looked at slate online , and between the two I know that I could get more out of it if I went to Nashville , ” where , she say , she can build more of a trip around the eating place , BAR , and activities the city offers .
Anushka , 27 , a San Diego resident , is traveling beyond her country by selection . “ It ’s usually a pain to get tickets in LA for high - requirement concert , ” she explain . She live in San Diego but is planning on find out Bad Bunny in Las Vegas , where she was able-bodied to find more low-cost tickets . In aggregate , Anushka plans on paying about $ 800 per person for a three - daytime trip to Vegas , include mid - tier concert tag . It ’s not precisely a budget alternative , but with Ticketmaster ’s dynamic - pricing system , ticket in the 200 section for the LA shows kitchen range between $ 650 to $ 1,100 . For the Mary Leontyne Price of just a ticket , she ’s getting a mini holiday or else .
For his part , Mejias is awaiting Bad Bunny ’s promulgation of Puerto Rico engagement but is also design to work extra shifts and keep open up so he can see him in Miami as well . “ I will make for firmly to see him , ” Mejias says . “ I would make hard — doubly as hard — to see him even if the prices keep rising . ”
There ’s nothing especially tranquil about yell your pharynx tender to “ Monaco , ” a braggadocious number that ’s equal part name - dropping and stream . But there is a unique mother wit of biotic community among Bad Bunny fans who are uncoerced to cash in in their PTO and jump in a car or onto a plane to gather in an arena and belt out out “ Por eso tú estás 101 en el top 100 y yo estoy primero ” among thousands of others . It ’s what ’s inspiring Mejias to save up to see the creative person both close to home and abroad . There ’s an innate sense of calm in being among a huge gang who , for at least three or four hours , feel what you feel and loves what you sleep together .
“ I get to get every emotion there is while he is talk my favorite songs , ” says Mejias . “ And I can relate to so many people doing the same matter .
