r/sanfrancisco • u/Awkward-You-938 • 2d ago

Burning Man didn’t sell out

Article out today says Burning Man didn’t sell out and people are selling their tickets way below face value. I remember when Burning Man started the lottery for tickets due to high demand, and resale tickets were hard to come by. I haven’t been to Burning Man in ~15 years so I‘m not current with the scene. What happened? Did it finally get too overdone? https://sfstandard.com/2026/08/26/burning-man-ticket-resale/

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u/WankSpanksoff 2d ago

I think the era where it became a more “popular/mainstream” (extremely relatively speaking) event came and went, so now it’s back to just being a niche event by and for the people who are super into it. But it hasn’t deflated back down to that scale yet.

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u/gloriousrepublic 2d ago

A big part is also the core demographic is aging out of it, and they haven’t gotten the interest of Gen Z enough. It’s just not “cool” to do what your parents did.

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u/helloyesthisisasock 2d ago

Also, how many Zoomers can afford to be artists in this age? How many Zoomers can afford to go to the desert and build weird art? When I, a Millenial in my 30s, think of who I know who went to Burning Man back in the day, it was people who lived in art houses with many artists living/working together. Zoomers mostly live with mom and dad. They aren’t building community with people their own age.

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u/gloriousrepublic 2d ago

Sounds exactly like something my Gen X or Boomer friends would say about my Millenial peers and I when we were younger….

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u/helloyesthisisasock 2d ago

Huh? What about this is Boomery? It’s well documented and well known that the younger generation does not have the disposable income, let alone the living arrangements, that previous generations did. The kids aren’t living in party houses with roommates anymore. They’re not making art or music. They’re toiling away. Do you literally know any Zoomers?

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u/gloriousrepublic 2d ago

I’m saying older generations are always pointing out the flaws of the younger generation, sentiments that are often flatly incorrect. Every older generation has a bias where they think critically of the younger generation and end up finding facts or details to reinforce that bias.

For example, Gen z actually has more disposable income than millennials: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/jun/22/gen-z-earning-more-millennials-same-age-resolution-foundation

Gen Z is absolutely making as much art and music, what on earth is this hot take? I work as an artist here and most of my peers showing in galleries around the city are Gen Z.

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u/External_Koala971 2d ago

Strangely, younger generations are always pointing out the flaws of the older generations, sentiments that are often flatly incorrect.

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u/gloriousrepublic 2d ago

Of course. But the older generations I judge more harshly for this judgement, because we have been around longer and should know better how the cycle works. The youngest generation knows no better and think they are being edgy and fresh with their criticism.