Surrounded by flashing lights, blaring music, and hundreds of people who share the same musical interest as you, the live music experience is something that cannot compare to just listening to music through a speaker. Concerts are meant to be a celebration of the artist and their art that they have spent countless hours working on. However, in recent years, the celebrating aspect of live music has seemed to fade. There has been a cultural shift in the way that people go to and perceive how they “have to” attend concerts, which started during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic took over, people got scared about never being able to see another concert again, therefore making people go all out (extravagant clothes, camping out in the queue for hours even days, and spending thousands just on the ticket alone.) making it less of a way for fans to show support for artists, but more of a competition.
In recent years, celebration has faded inti competition as live music is now about who is the best dressed, or who has gotten the most notices from the artist Harry Styles’ very anticipated tour was set to take off in March of 2020, shortly following his release of “Fine Line” his sophomore album. Fans were ecstatic as this would be his first arena tour. Unfortunately, the tour got cancelled due to COVID-19. And after a few long months of uncertainty if the tour would be picked back up again, it was announced that “Love on Tour” would start in the fall. This is where the shift in concert culture started. People started showing up to this tour dressed in feather boas which covered every city he performed in, bright, colorful outfits accompanied by cowboy hats which had become a “Love on Tour” staple, setting new standards with how you are expected to dress for a concert.
Along with new outfit norms for concerts, a new complication with wanting to be in the front row arose. Since the concert shutdown of mid 2020, people have gotten a fear that they will not be able to see their favorite artist in a live setting. So, they result to lining up in the streets of dangerous downtown areas for hours, days even, to have the chance of getting to the front. Pushing and shoving have also become huge issues within concerts. With fights even breaking out, making it a more hostile environment when it’s supposed to be a safe place for fans to sing and dance together. Instead, it has turned into a competition of who is the better fan, which can only be proved if you’re in the front row and in an outfit that costs more than the ticket.
The actual process of getting tickets has also changed since Styles’ tour; it has been almost impossible to get tickets under $100 (even for nosebleeds) for big name artists. This was especially apparent for the Ticketmaster disaster of 2023 when Taylor Swift’s Era’s tour when on sale. Trying to get tickets was such a disastrous event that an act passed in Minnesota stating that tickets sold on Ticketmaster must be sold by the primary seller, as opposed to a secondary source. This stemmed from the problem that scalpers bought these tickets and sold them online for a ridiculous price, that fans of Swift bought. It is a sign of privilege if someone was able to go to a high-demand show, potentially making others feel less of a fan if they could not attend a show. This sends a certain message to other fans in that community that they are not considered a “true fan” unless they go to a concert, which not all fans are able to do. Especially with ticket prices being as high as they are.
Concert Culture has changed for the better and for the worse, now, there is more of a scene of connectedness between fans and more of an understanding of each other. But now, there is an extra amount of pressure of having to step up to these new standards when concerts are just supposed to be a place where you can be yourself without having to prove anything to others.
