Kaitlin Butts may have just revealed one of the most unexpectedly genius ticket-selling strategies in country music history. Before becoming one of the genre’s fastest-rising names, the Texas-country standout says she used Tinder in a very unconventional way while trying to fill seats at small bar shows early in her career.
And honestly? It worked pretty well.
Her Genius Hack to Sell Tickets
During a recent appearance on the Girls In Low Places Podcast, Butts opened up about the hustle years before albums like Roadrunner! and viral songs like “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me)” helped push her toward the mainstream.
Back then, every single ticket sale mattered — so she got creative. “I would get on Tinder and invite all the boys from Tinder to my shows,” Butts admitted. But she wasn’t handing out free tickets.
“$10 a pop, honey, that’s $100!” she joked. “And I would see all of them hanging out at the bar, and I’d be like, ‘They have no idea. They have no idea.’”
Her Exit Strategy Was Even Better
According to Butts, the Tinder guys would show up expecting to spend time with her after the performance. Instead? “I would leave!” she laughed.
The singer is now married to Flatland Cavalry frontman Cleto Cordero, whom she wed in 2020, but her early Tinder-ticket-selling era is quickly becoming one of the funniest hustle stories fans have heard from an up-and-coming country artist.
Kaitlin Butts Keeps Rising
Butts has steadily built momentum over the past few years thanks to acclaimed projects like Roadrunner! and What Else Can She Do, along with the viral success of “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me)” on TikTok.
This year, she’ll continue expanding her audience while opening shows for Ella Langley and Brooks & Dunn — proving those early ticket-selling tactics may have paid off after all.