Sam’s Live Favorites
One Direction
One Direction’s On the Road Again Tour was my first concert experience on my 11th birthday in 2015, and I think it’s safe to say I blacked out for most of it. During my childhood One Direction phase, “Kiss You” was my favorite song, and that’s about all I remember experiencing live. Being my first concert, I didn’t know how much a live performance could elevate a song, but after seeing the boys sing my favorite, it all made sense. Unfortunately, I remember more of the pre-show video advertising their perfume than the show itself. Nevertheless, getting to say my first concert was One Direction is a pretty big flex, definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Panic! At the Disco
In true 2018 middle school fashion, I begged my mom to take me to see Panic! At the Disco on their Pray For The Wicked Tour. Although I wouldn’t choose to see Brendon Urie live in concert again, at the time, it was the only concert on my bucket list. The show was absolutely insane, with lights, dancing, and pianos flying across the stadium. The coolest part of the show was the fan-made project that happens during the song “Girls/Girls/Boys,” which became a very proud LGBTQ+ anthem. At the beginning of the show, each seat had a paper heart with specific colors on it, instructing us to hold it to our phone flashlight during the song. Once the song was performed, the audience held up their flashlights and created a rainbow throughout the entire stadium, something I had never seen happen before. I was in awe at the effort put into this project.
Mxmtoon
In my senior year of high school, I had a zoo field trip, prom, and an mxmtoon concert all within a week of each other, and the concert was definitely the highlight. I had the pleasure of taking my best friend to her first concert. Our seats were front and center, something I don’t think I’ll ever experience again. The concert happened to fall about a few weeks before the release of her second studio album, rising, so she performed some new songs from her album for us. Getting to hear “frown” live before the album was released easily made me recollect on this concert once the studio version dropped. Chloe Moriondo, an artist I’ve been listening to for a while, opened with the perfect setlist. I was excited when she performed “I Want to Be With You,” which was featured in season one of the Netflix show Heartstopper.
niall horan
Nearly a decade after seeing One Direction, I got to live out my Niall fan-girl dream for The Show: Live On Tour. His album Heartbreak Weather, released on March 13, 2020, was so important to me. The release was right as the pandemic forced everything to shut down. The album kept me sane in the beginning, and despite the four-year delay of hearing it live, the wait was well worth it! “Heartbreak Weather” has been my favorite song in his discography since its release, and finally getting to experience it live was an overwhelmingly perfect encore. I had also never heard of the opener, Del Water Gap, until the show, which made me upset because he was amazing. The set got cut off a little due to weather, but the few songs I did get to hear live were fantastic. Del Water Gap has slowly gotten bigger—they’re playing at this year’s Lollapalooza—and I can easily say they deserve all the praise they get.
taylor swift
The Eras Tour was truly a concert experience like no other. With a show as long as hers, it’s hard to pick only a few songs that I enjoyed most. The entire show elevated her discography by so much, I can no longer listen to the songs without thinking of the concert. One song that felt very cathartic to hear—and sing along to—live was “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault).” Taylor Swift has a way of making her personal experiences something every listener can relate to, so singing along to this 10-minute song was absolutely unreal. I became a huge fan of the song “Down Bad,” from her newest album, The Tortured Poets Department. When she added it to the setlist after the album’s release, I could not stop thinking about seeing it live, it instantly became a definite highlight of the show. It was so fun getting to experience all of her eras one by one, but something about the 1989 era really stuck out to me. Being 10 years old when the original album came out, I got to hear my favorite songs from my childhood live, a universal experience shared by the entire audience. It’s hard not to enjoy songs from 1989 as it’s such a genre-defining album, which The Eras Tour proved at every show. I would list out the entire show on this list if I could, but those few parts emphasize how much I enjoyed seeing Taylor Swift live.
Maleyah’s Live Favorites
Ricky Dillon and Trevi Moran
Ricky Dillon and Trevi Moran’s Alive + Gold tour was my first concert experience back in 2016! I was the girl who was obsessed with YouTubers and their content, so seeing these two live was a no-brainer. Trevi is an exceptional vocalist with a great stage presence, and her song “Get Me Through The Night” was a prime example. Her live vocals sounded so much better than the track, and she performed some of the choreography with the backup dancers, which elevated the song even more. The two of them closed the show with their joint song “Steal The Show” which was loads of fun! Listening through headphones to two people singing together versus hearing those harmonies in person is like comparing night and day. They made the song so fun, and you could tell they were enjoying themselves, which made me enjoy myself more!
Meghan Trainor
Meghan Trainor’s Timeless Tour was my most recent concert experience in October 2024. I’ve been a fan of Meghan ever since “All About That Bass” blew up, and it was one of the most enjoyable concert experiences I’ve ever had. Going into this concert, I knew a handful of songs off the new album, with “Hate It Here” being one of my absolute favorites; it only got better live! Meghan prefaced the song by asking if anybody in the crowd had social anxiety, and the crowd erupted in cheers. This interaction made the live performance even more relatable, truly feeling like a party onstage and in the crowd.
Jacob Collier
Jacob Collier’s DJesse Vol 4 Tour was a masterclass in artistry. Jacob Collier is a genius who played three different instruments during this one performance. To be completely honest, I went into this concert only knowing a handful of Jacob’s songs. You know a song is performed well when you stop in the middle of the concert to write it down so you can download it later; that’s exactly what I did with “Cinnamon Crush.” This happened to be a song that featured an artist named Lindsey Lomis, who Jacob brought on tour as one of his backup singers; man, did that song get better live. Not only was Jacob shredding the bass while singing, but Lindsey’s entrance made the performance even more entrancing. She’s an insane vocalist with some of the cleanest riffs I’ve ever heard. I found myself with my jaw on the floor for the whole song. That night, Jacob and Lindsey taught a masterclass in vocals and performance quality.
Camila Cabello
I saw Camila Cabello at the Houston Rodeo back in March of 2018, my freshman year of high school. I was a massive Fifth Harmony fan, so seeing Camila was a full circle moment. However, that meant not knowing too many of her songs besides hits like “Havana” and “Consequences”. When she sang “Consequences”, it was as though I was hearing the song for the first time. She had this gorgeous, soaring quality to her voice on the high notes, and it was even more magical because the entire crowd had their phone flashlights on. I felt like I was sitting amongst the stars. This was an experience you can only have hearing a song live.
Alessia Cara
I saw Alessia Cara in October of 2016 in Chicago! This was my concert I saw performed by an artist, so it was a really big deal for me! I remember walking into the venue and making a beeline for the merch table; I needed to commemorate this moment. My angel of a mother bought me this huge, signed poster of Alessia’s face, which is still hanging up in my bedroom to this day. We had pretty good seats in the venue hall! One of my favorite songs going into this concert was “Scars To Your Beautiful.” I loved the message that the song centered on, especially as an impressionable pre-teen. I can confidently say that song only got better live! Before the song started, Alessia spoke about the pressures that she feels to constantly be perfect. Hearing her speak with so much vulnerability was so refreshing. She put her money where her mouth is because her outfit was just a t-shirt, denim jacket, jeans, and sneakers, dressing for no one but herself. She sounded stunning and brought the same raw emotion from her speech to the song; I absolutely loved it!
Ruth B
I have seen Ruth B perform 4 times (including a Zoom concert during quarantine), so it’s safe to say I have heard her sing live A LOT. She is hands down one of my favorite artists, so picking a song that was performed better live is tough; I’ll choose these two performances for now.
I saw Ruth B in May of 2017 in Evanston, IL, with one of my closest friends, which already made the experience special. Before the show, we attended her meet and greet! One of my favorite songs of hers to this day is “If By Chance,” which only got more beautiful hearing it live. I find it so impressive when someone can play an instrument while they sing. So, seeing her play the piano while singing sounded gorgeous. She is one of those artists whose songs I know almost every word to. So, when I’m staying quiet to hear her voice instead of my own, I know it’s special. I saw her live again in January of 2018 in Houston, this time with my parents. One of my other favorite songs by Ruth is off her first ever E.P. and it’s called “Two Poor Kids.” At most concerts, an artist will mostly perform songs off their current album, their biggest hit(s) (in Ruth’s case “Lost Boy”), and possibly a few throwbacks, but you never know what they are going to be. Once again, seeing her play and sing live was great, but it was also super cool to hear her vocal growth over the last two years. She has always been a great singer live, but as a performer myself, it was cool to see the progression of her vocal strength. I couldn’t help but sing along the whole time to one of my favorite artists, again!
