It is no secret that I love attending concerts. There is just something about the thrill of purchasing tickets months in advance to see my favorite artists perform my favorite songs live. Going to these shows is something I have learned to appreciate as I’ve gotten older. It gives me something to look forward to, which, sometimes, is all I need in these trying times.
About a year ago, one of my favorite artists, Lorde, announced her highly anticipated third album, Solar Power, alongside an accompanying world tour. Being the fangirl that I am, I immediately bought my ticket, excited to finally be able to attend one of her shows! At that point in my life, I didn’t know what to expect from this show or how it would feel attending a concert alone. I was just excited to have concert plans for the future.
Flash forward to May 2022, and my concert date was rapidly approaching. I had to scramble to make plans on how I would even get to the venue, the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Once I had my travel plans in place, I began scheduling out how my day would look, what time I needed to get ready, and what time I needed to leave my dorm. It was a different experience because, for the first time, I was making these concert plans just for myself. No one else was there for me to take into consideration or even give me advice on what to do. It felt very bizarre and a little bittersweet.
The day of the concert rolled around, and I was very excited but also very nervous. While I have been to my fair share of concerts before, going alone was an entirely new experience. On the way down, I felt a bunch of nerves. What if I got lost? What if my ticket doesn’t get scanned? Various anxiety-inducing thoughts circled my head as I traveled to the city.
I arrived at the venue shortly after the doors opened. After checking out the merch stands and getting some water, I settled down in my seat. I felt a bit out of place; everyone seemed to have gone with at least one other person. Was it a mistake to attend this concert alone? I began to have doubts, that is, until someone sat down in the seat next to me. It appeared she had come alone too.
Then, it was time for the concert to begin! Lorde came out in all of her surreal, solar glory. She talked to the crowd about her first trip to LA and how quickly she learned that LA is not the kind of place you can just walk around. She addressed the leaked SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the heartbreak it made her feel. She told us to always take care of ourselves and listen to our bodies because “they always know when something is wrong.” It was an emotionally uplifting night, and by the end of it, I felt so much lighter than I did when I entered the venue. I had a blast crying to her ballads and dancing to her pop songs. And it was nice knowing that, while I may have attended this concert alone, I was surrounded by people who felt the same way I did. Sometimes that’s all we need, a confirmation that even though we may feel that way, we are never truly alone. I don’t know if I will attend a concert solo again, but I do know that this experience is something I would not change for the world.