Attending a concert tour or a live performance is not something most students do every day. For some, it is an occasional treat, but for bigger concerts, it can be a once-in-a-lifetime activity. The exhilaration of seeing a beloved artist perform, complete with the special effects and energy of the crowd, can be life altering. Add to that all the people sharing a love for the same type of music, and the experience can be spectacular.
“My favorite part of a concert is everyone being really hype,” said Marshfield High School senior Cecelia Cox. “Everyone is screaming and you can be yourself and scream with them. It’s super high energy.”
Concerts can be an amazing experience for artists and performers to engage with their audiences and get a separate source of income that isn’t directly from the art they produce. Concerts can also be a great way for people to meet others that have similar interests and it isn’t uncommon to make connections and leave the venue with a new friend or two.
“I love music and interacting with people that love the same band as me,” said Olivia Hoffman, a MHS freshman.
While concerts can be very exciting and an enjoyable experience, they can sometimes be dangerous and controversial. There are many people packed into one, sometimes large, venue. Crowds can be wild and caught up in the fervor; injuries are commonplace during such an event.
Fans and fandoms can be unbelievably chaotic and unhinged fans will often do anything to get noticed by the performer. Sometimes fans throw objects that can hurt the artist, or they’ve tried to climb onto the stage. For those attending, it’s necessary to be respectful to others around them, including the performers. Security is sometimes on high alert to remind people of rules.
“I think the security at concerts is necessary because we don’t want people bringing bad stuff because a lot of people are around you and being safe is important,” said MHS freshman Brooklyn Pederson.
Certain concerts can also be open to discussion with specific things. As to whether or not a performance is appropriate for a parent to bring their children to concerts performed by artists with adult themes in their music is up for debate. Guardians and parents have gotten angry at artists for certain parts of performances that could be deemed inappropriate for a child. Others argue that parents should monitor what their children listen to and do research on the concerts they are going to attend so they can personally determine what their child should and shouldn’t see, or if they should take them there at all.
Concerts can be a passionate and sociable activity and emotional experience. Being safe at that experience is so important and doing research about who should be at that experience is also super essential for everyone involved to have a fun, positive and appropriate time.