The punk rock economist: why the founder of Warped Tour refuses to gouge fans

In an era where concert tickets often rival the cost of a mortgage payment, Kevin Lyman stands as a defiant anomaly. Thirty-one years after founding the Vans Warped Tour, the pop-punk patriarch is looking at the modern music industry with a mixture of confusion and frustration. And he’s excited that his Warped Tour, on the comeback trail for a second straight year, is staying true to its values.

“Ticket prices have gotten so out of hand,” Lyman told Fortune over a Zoom call, luxuriating...