I’ll never forget when Brockhampton released their tour dates for their “Heaven Belongs to You” tour. This group has been one of my favorites since 2018, and I knew I was going to see them regardless of how far away they were. Being in Gainesville, I was hoping they would have a show in Orlando or Tampa, but unfortunately, the closest they were coming to my city was Atlanta, Georgia.
The drive from Gainesville to Atlanta is well over five hours, but regardless, I was excited to pack some friends in my Honda and take a road trip to see Brockhampton. There are so many fun things to see in the heart of Atlanta, I figured it would be a great opportunity to get to know the city more. Since the show was five hours away, took place on a Wednesday night and occurred the week before Thanksgiving, finding people to attend this show with me was nearly impossible. I was super hesitant about going because I had never gone to a concert alone before. I didn’t know if the show would be as enjoyable if I went without some friends. Luckily, I have an older brother who lives in Atlanta. I figured I could use this as an opportunity to spend some quality time with him. If I was having a bad time at the show, I could just go hang out with my brother for the remainder of the evening.
About a week before the show, I decided to go on the r/Brockhampton subreddit and ask if anyone in that community was going to the show in Atlanta. I was surprised by the number of responses I received. I ended up getting in a group chat with two girls who were going to the show and some of their friends who had early access passes inside the venue. Although they say not to speak to strangers on the Internet, I’ll admit, posting about the show in the Brockhampton community ended up giving me some new friends and new memories.
I got to Atlanta the Tuesday before the Brockhampton concert. I was a little scared to make the drive by myself because I know how traffic-filled Atlanta is, but luckily, the drive was smooth sailing. I showed up at my brother’s house and was super excited to see him and his roommate because I don’t get to see them too often. The three of us went to a Mexican restaurant that night for Taco Tuesday and just kicked back for the remainder of the night. Had I gone on this trip with some friends, I likely wouldn’t have had the quality time with my brother.
The concert took place the next day. The people I had met from Reddit and I made plans to meet at the Cumberland Mall to grab a bite to eat before the show. It turns out these people were from North Carolina, Connecticut, and Tennessee, and some of them flew by themselves to go to this show! It was awesome that all of us had such an attachment to this band that we were willing to travel alone from faraway places to see them live. We ended up getting to the venue about an hour and a half before the show started. Since we had early access passes to the venue, we got a very good spot by the stage. The performance was phenomenal, and the whole night was unforgettable. If I went to this concert with some of my friends from Gainesville, I wouldn’t have met so many cool individuals from different parts of the country. To this day, this group of people and me still keep in touch. From this experience, I learned that great memories and growth can certainly come from doing things that scare you. I used to be intimidated by going to shows alone, but now, I strongly believe that going to concerts alone is something that should be normalized.