I will always remember my first concert. I was five years old and Ralph’s World was performing at the Morton Arboretum—if you haven’t heard of him, he writes the best children’s music and I definitely recommend it. Since then, I have been to more concerts than I can count, from The Lumineers to Hippo Campus to Taylor Swift. I’ve been to venues that hold 61,500 people and venues with just 50 and I can confidently say that I’ve never been to a concert that I didn’t enjoy.
For the past 18 months many of us experienced new levels of loneliness that were previously unfamiliar. This pandemic changed a lot of things for a lot of people. New hobbies, new habits and new experiences arose for us all. For me, the first few months of lockdown consisted of most of the hours of the day spent in my room, listening to music. I would spend entire days making new Spotify playlists or just laying on my bed, listening to Fleetwood Mac on my record player as I stared up at the blank ceiling. Life was routine; it was mundane; it began to feel tiresome. But music was always there. No matter how much changed in my life and in the world around me, there was always music to come back to.
Throughout the past year and a half, whenever someone would ask me what I was looking forward to doing once the world opened back up, my answer was always the same: concerts. I couldn’t wait to be back with the ecstatic crowd of fans, all anxiously waiting for the artist or band to appear on stage. That feeling. That feeling of finally being in the same room as someone you had admired for weeks, months, years, singing that same song you danced to in your bedroom, now right in front of you. That is the feeling I was yearning for again. So when I bought tickets for my first concert since COVID-19, all I could think about was that feeling.
This past month, I’ve gone to three concerts. Yes, two of them were Harry Styles and no, I do not regret spending an excessive amount of money to see essentially the same show twice. In my opinion, concert tickets are the best thing you can spend your money on. But what’s important is that I finally felt that feeling again: the anticipation and energy of the crowd, the ringing in my ears, the incessant smile on my face, all part of what makes concerts so special. Honestly, there were days when I questioned if we would ever be able to do that again. But in that moment at the concert, I had the realization that we were there. COVID-19 is still very real, but a year ago I never would have thought that I would be able to have this experience again so soon. And I am so grateful that that feeling is back. So if you have the opportunity to go to a concert anytime soon, take it. You won’t regret it.