The first thing to know about me is my love of concerts. If missing posters ever go up, check concert venues. Since my first concert in 2014, I have been to hundreds of shows, even going as far as to travel alone across France just to see Coldplay this summer. I’ve seen bands in small bar venues and in huge stadiums. I’ve been to concerts with friends, but I’ve been to even more alone. There is nothing that compares to screaming along to your favorite song by your favorite band surrounded by thousands of strangers all connected by live music. The energy is unmatched, and I’ve learned the ins and outs of concert-going through chasing that energy.
Know Your crowd
My music taste is all over the place; I’ve seen artists live from Harry Styles to Black Veil Brides to Diplo to the Lumineers. No concert experience is ever the same and no concert ever goes by the same rules. It is important to know the vibe of the artist you’re seeing live and the fandom’s culture. This is especially crucial if you have general admission tickets. I’ve once reached the barricade for shows I only showed up to an hour before doors, and I’ve once had to fight tooth and nail to keep my spot when I’ve been waiting in line since early in the morning. If you’re going to a Harry Styles or Billie Eilish concert (or any concert where the fandom is intense), expect to get there really early if barricade is what you want. If you have reserved seats, you do not need to arrive at the venue until doors open. If you’re not interested in the opening acts, the latest to arrive if you have seats should be around 8:30 p.m. because most main acts enter the stage at 9 p.m.
BUYING YOUR TICKETS
Know your artist before tickets first go on sale. If they are a super mainstream artist, familiarize yourself with the ticket website, have your presale code copy and pasted to your clipboard, and be ready to speed through purchasing tickets, because you will be at war with hundreds of other fans and scalpers online at the same time trying to score tickets. If you don’t get a ticket the first time around, do not fret. People will post resale tickets online for weeks leading up to the concert. I advise looking for these tickets on Stubhub and Ticketmaster since I’ve found those websites to be the most reliable. Facebook groups and Twitter are also great resources to find other fans looking to sell their tickets, and this can be great for bartering the tickets to a lower price. Additionally, I know you might be itching to get your hands on a ticket ASAP out of fear all hope will be lost if you wait, but patience is key when it comes to sold-out concerts. Usually, Ticketmaster will release extra tickets the week of the concert—regularly priced tickets that you can swoop in and buy. Additionally, as the date nears, prices will be lower for resale tickets in order to get rid of them. A more risky but often successful option is going to the box office the day of the show and seeing if they have any extra tickets. Most times, they will have extremely close seats for face value.
SKIP THE FOMO, GO ALONE
When people get to know me, the question I get asked the most is how am I so comfortable going to concerts alone, and here’s the answer: I prefer it. When you go alone you get to choose how early or how late you want to arrive, how much you want to spend on tickets, and you don’t have to worry if you’re friends are having a good time. It doesn’t even matter if you go alone, because once the lights go down and the main act is on stage, it just feels like you’re alone with your favorite artist for two hours. Every time I go to a show alone, I end up making friends in lines or in crowds waiting for the concert to start. Going alone forces me out of my shell and pushes me to talk to the people around me when I’d probably only talk to my friend if I went with them.
As amazing as going alone is, it comes with its anxiety. Just practice common sense safety tips: make sure someone has your location shared with them, know your exits and where the security guards are, and if you’re 21 and want to drink, know what your limit is and be careful.
If you are adamant on not going alone, turn to social media to find other people also going to the same concert as you. I made one of my best friends this year because we met on BumbleBFF and it turned out we were both in general admission for the same Billie Eilish concert alone, and we ended up traveling together to another state for a second concert just a few days later. I also turned to Facebook to find other girls who posted in the Firefly Festival chats about going alone to form a camping group because I was too scared to camp alone, but I didn’t want to miss out on seeing several of my favorite artists in one weekend.
I firmly believe that it is better to do something alone than to not do it at all. FOMO is always worse than any pre-concert anxiety. Life is too short to wait for friends to be available or wait for people with similar music taste. I’ve never regretted going to a concert, I’ve always regretted not buying the ticket. If you’re on TikTok you’ve probably heard this before, but I’m saying it again: your money will come back, but the experience never will. Buy that concert ticket: it’s the best decision you can make.
