Living only an hour northbound from Los Angeles has been a great perk to my social events life. The traffic and parking prices may suck but if you're a huge concert junkie such as myself and music is your huge passion, you overlook those cons.
Getting a job was extremely helpful as I was able to afford to attend concerts frequently and get the amazing opportunity to see my favorite artists perform my favorite songs.
One thing I thoroughly enjoy about going to concerts is waiting impatiently to get inside a venue. I always get butterflies because I am unsure of what songs will be performed and how they will be experienced considering that I have been waiting since the minute I purchased tickets months prior to get to that moment. Losing my voice from singing (or should I say screaming) along with the artists is always a great indicator of how well the show went and how much I successfully enjoyed my evening.
I have seen over 100 different artists in just the last three years since getting heavily involved with attending concerts which is something I am proud of. In the Notes app on my phone, I keep track of the artists I have seen, how many times I have seen them, and where I saw them perform. I have also been to a majority of the concert venues in Los Angeles and my goal is to go to every single one of them before I graduate college since concerts do not come cheap when having to pay for your own tuition and other expenses. In most of the venues I have gone to, I have made some great memories and enjoyed my entire time but there have been those venues in which have been unfavorable and would choose not to go to them again unless an artist I am dying to see happens to perform there (*cough* The Shrine Auditorium *cough*).
Due to the high costs, I had never gone to a festival early in my concert binges but it was always a goal to attend one. Coachella was one that everyone in California goes to but getting passes is always such an annoying hassle since they sell out so quickly and they're always super expensive. With that being said, I decided to research various music festivals to see which one would be better and it led me to a popular festival in Chicago, Illinois called Lollapalooza. I then compared costs between Coachella and Lollapalooza and surprisingly the one in my state was more expensive and not as worth it since Lollapalooza was a four-day festival and Coachella was only three days.
Lollapalooza was one of the most amazing live music events I have ever been to as it had an amazing lineup the year I went and I was around so many people with similar music taste as me. I cannot wait to go back consistently when I can afford to do so because it never fails to book some great and talented artists.
Concerts and festivals are a great investment because you're investing in such amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I have met some amazing people and made some life-long friends at a bunch of concerts. The energy from those inside the venue always gives me a natural high and it makes me feel so welcomed and extremely happy. Live music events are my happy and safe places and I am beyond thankful for them.
