Headphones, auxiliary cords, and playlists. The three main components on my list of absolute essentials for every passing day. Ever since I was little I’ve loved music, I’ve needed it in my life.
I’ve learned to play half a dozen instruments and I sing to every song in the car. Often times I notice the absence of music when I’m sitting in class or falling asleep because I have become so immensely accustomed to it being by my side.
When I was in middle school I started exploring YouTube clicking on related links to popular songs on the radio. My concert addiction keeps its roots dug into the winter I found Ed Sheeran when I was in eighth grade and I listened to nothing else for six months until I had the chance to see him live in Milwaukee that May. That was my first real, raw general admission concert experience where I firsthand heard his voice flood the ballroom. I witnessed him put his music together with a loop pedal and pour his heart out to everyone in the audience. It wasn’t an everyday experience and it sent goosebumps up my spine.
I needed more.
I started listening to more artists that I fell in love with from Twenty One Pilots and The 1975 to Bastille, who I’ve seen eight times. I’ve traveled across the country to see them and I have never regretted a dime that I’ve spent on the process. Cumulatively I’ve gone to more than fifty concerts because truth be told I’ve lost count.
Concerts have become such an innate part of who I am as a person that I’m just used to the process. I’ve learned as I grow up that life is a lot less about the material things and a lot more about experiences. Each concert has so many stories behind it, so many misadventures. They’ve shaped who I am as an individual and taught me to be open-hearted and connect with people who feel the same way I do about live music.
I am lucky enough to intern at my favorite radio station and have seen more concerts in the last year than I can say thank you for. I have met some of my best friends through music, some of the most genuine and lovely people you could ever encounter will be at the concerts you attend if you share a passion for the music.
It’s insanely fun to get out of your own head sometimes. Everyday life is relentless at times and frustrating and it’s impossible not to feel like you’re carrying the weight of the world some days. My favorite part of a concert is getting there and the artist walking out on stage, feeling your worries and stressors melt away. If only for an hour or two, you don’t have to exist in your normal reality. You can get lost to jumping up and down and screaming your favorite songs. The music is louder and more real in person. That artist you admire you get to see face to face and you can finally reassure yourself that yes, they are indeed real.
Music is a form of communication. It’s a friend when you feel alone, it’s an adventure when you want to escape, and its solace when you feel at your lowest.
You can tell a lot about a person from their taste in music. If you’re ever curious what someone is like on a deeper level, look at their Spotify playlist. You’ll learn things about them that they may not share in any other way.
