Katelyn Benschoter-
Concerts; an experience unlike anything else. That special time when a fan gets to be in the same room as their favorite artist. Hearing your favorite tracks live is such a surreal experience. In recent years, concerts have become so much more than just one night of fun. There is the leadup to buying the tickets, getting ready, and then reminiscing on the memories after. Concerts have become an event. In previous years, concerts were merely a one-night thing, but they have now become so much more. From waiting hours online in a queue to buy tickets to spending hours creating the perfect tour outfit, we are living in a shift in concert culture.
When one wants to attend a concert, the first step is to buy a ticket. This used to be a very easy and straightforward process. It has since become a game; something you need to strategize and prepare for. Especially with popular artists, you need to prep and make sure you have all the right tools in order to secure tickets. By tools I mean multiple devices, timers, credit cards at the ready, and knowing exactly what seats you are after. Yet, even after all that work, sometimes you still come up empty handed. One of the biggest shifts in concert culture has been who has access to presale tickets. Concerts used to be something that was widely available to all people that were interested. Now, though, it feels as if attending concerts has become accessible for very few – and those very few are the highly rich folk. A key example of this can be seen with Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The queue itself took hours to get through as millions of fans tried to secure tickets. By the time fans entered the official ticketing site, they were met with outrageous pricing. A standard lower level ticket going for $300+. This is outrageous, especially when the majority of Swift’s fan base is young adolescents that certainly do not have that kind of money. This has got to be one of the most concerning aspects of the shift in concert culture. Will the prices ever go down? What does this mean for the future of concerts?
Moving on to one of the more fun aspects of attending a concert: planning your outfit. This, similar to ticket buying, used to be so simple. However, now there is an immense amount of thought and time that fans put into concert attire. There has become a sort of pressure that you must have a fun and creative outfit. Some fanbases, like Swifties, have been doing this for quite some time; coming up with elaborate costumes based on specific lyrics from her songs. This concept has now spread to quite literally any concert you could attend. I find it very fun to see what others wear. From a fan DIYing an exact replica of the artist’s look to bold, fun makeup, I find it so heartwarming to see how creative the fans can get. If they have put 10 hours into making a perfect outfit, this is clearly an important day for them. I think this is one of the most exciting aspects of the shift in concert culture. Opening up the doors for concerts to be a safe space for people to express themselves, even just for one night, is so powerful. This allows
Concerts are more than just a show you go to watch; they are something you get to experience deeply.
One more big shift I have seen in concert culture is how artists are changing up their shows. When an artist goes on tour, they do the same set every single night. Artists like Gracie Abrams and Sabrina Carpenter have been challenging this norm. Artists tend to stick to mostly the same set night after night but they incorporate a certain song or time in the show that they will change what they do every night. For Carpenter, she has done this with her song “Nonsense.” At the end of that song every night, she would do a different outro, which was typically something to do with the city she was performing in. Another example is Abrams, who adds a surprise song every night. This is a time in the show when they may sing an oldie off a prior album or even an unreleased song, as Abrams did with her now-hit “That’s So True” prior to its release. Small acts like these during concerts make each and every show special. It adds an aspect that cannot be recreated and that fans can then hold close to their hearts. It also adds a surprise element to the show which creates anticipation amongst fans. Even if you are unable to attend a tour, it is fun to look on social media and see what an artist changed up or added in. It is a very smart marketing tool to get people talking about every show.
Concerts are one of my absolute favorite things to attend, and if I could attend all of them, I would. It is very interesting to attend concerts in today’s world, as there are many factors changing about them. Some for good and some for bad, but change is going to happen anyhow. It will be interesting to see how the culture of concerts continues to change and grow, and let’s hope they change to cheaper. If not, I suppose I will just go broke. At least I will have the memories!