Until last week, I had never attended a concert before! I know it may be hard to believe, but between figuring out what artists and bands I liked in high school and the pandemic hitting the U.S. back in 2020, I just never got around to going to one. Now that I have finally found my taste in music and bands are starting to go on tour again, I had the opportunity to get tickets to not one, but three concerts! The first concert I attended was Aurora down in New York City, followed by Mom Jeans several days later in Syracuse. It was awesome to hear them play live, and I discovered that I love concerts; but, what I also realized was how great concerts can be for your mental health. (Please note that this is based on my own personal experience, and may not hold true for people who struggle with things such as claustrophobia or loud sounds.)
When I saw Aurora perform, I was in awe of how kind and caring she was. She asked us all if we were drinking enough water, and she was genuinely appreciative of how much love the audience showed her. She told us about her experiences with performing in front of people, as well as being around big groups of people in general, and how this has been something that she struggled with. Aurora went on to tell the audience that whoever in the crowd was struggling with something similar, she applauded them for being there tonight and for facing their fear to hear her perform. I had not considered how nerve-wracking a concert might be for someone struggling with something such as social anxiety, and to have the artist, who you are facing your fear for, validate those struggles must have felt empowering!
What really struck me personally that she said was “do not let fear drive you.” As someone who struggles with anxiety and fear, this simple statement put these struggles into a whole different perspective for me. I always thought of my fear as something I needed to conquer or suppress. I have read countless inspirational quotes saying something along the lines of “courage is not the absence of fear, but acting despite it.” While the sentiment makes sense, fear causes the flight, fight, freeze, or fawn responses to activate, making it difficult to act while also navigating a fear response. But there was something that resonated with me about not letting fear drive you. This allows the fear to be present in your body, but shifts the focus from acting in spite of it to working through the fear. It is easy to succumb to the feeling of being afraid and let it overtake you, but fear only drives us if we allow it to. For so many people at that concert, they were acting while afraid even if they did not realize it, because for them, fear was not what drove them but their love for Aurora’s music.
My second concert, Mom Jeans, instilled similar inspiration in the audience and me, but in the realm of achieving your dreams. Before singing their last song, one of the opening bands, Pool Kids, told the crowd that if anyone out there wanted to do what they did, they totally could. They explained how they all learned through YouTube tutorials, practicing in their basements, and it was nothing that anyone else could not do. Halfway through Mom Jeans’ performance, between songs, the lead singer Eric shared Pool Kids sentiment. He told the crowd how they can make music and go on tour too, and they should! We were all capable of learning an instrument, making music, and creating a band if that was something we wanted to do, we just had to set our minds to it. Something I love about Mom Jeans’ music in particular is how their songs can incorporate the audience so well. During one of their songs, “Death Cup,” there is a moment where Eric screams four times. When they performed the song, he turned the mic to the audience for them to scream, and after screaming four times, I honestly felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders! This is not to say you should scream in your dorm or apartment building, but sometimes taking a drive and screaming to your favorite songs is just the stress reliever that you need.
Mom Jeans ended their performance with Eric explaining how when the pandemic hit, they were in the middle of a tour, which thus came to an abrupt end. Spending over a year without being able to play music live really made him appreciate touring and playing music, and now, every time he gets to play on stage again, he has such a deeper appreciation for it. It made me realize how much I, too, appreciated being able to attend a concert. While we had many opportunities and privileges taken from us during the pandemic, now that many places are ending lockdowns and we are returning to our new “normal,” it is important to appreciate that we are able to do things such as go to concerts.
We need to continue to take cautions such as wearing masks and getting vaccinated in order to keep these opportunities available to us and keep each other safe. Events such as concerts can be great for our mental health, not only since we are able to truly connect with the music we love so much, but also because we can connect with the artists behind the music and their experiences. While we might idolize music artists as celebrities, they are people too! They struggle with their own fears and mental health just like we do. It is truly an incredible experience to be able to hear artists open up about these struggles and be able to have your own experiences validated in the process. I certainly am grateful for being able to attend concerts, and for artists like Aurora and Mom Jeans for releasing new music and providing unwavering support to their fans. Next time you attend a concert, pay attention to what they say between songs, and you just might have a new mantra, learn to look at a part of your life differently, or grow to appreciate something more!