The last weekend of September, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a variety of musical events. I spent Saturday and Sunday at Soundside Music Festival in Bridgeport, CT. My whole family got tickets, which was really exciting because we had never all been to a concert together before. It was also my first music festival, so I was looking forward to the experience.
I found the event to be a little crowded and overstimulating, but it was a lot of fun, and the music was phenomenal. There was also lots of food from local restaurants, which was of course wildly overpriced (but yummy). The music was pretty loud, but wearing earplugs helped a lot – I would definitely recommend the loop concert earplugs to any concert goers (#notsponsered). On Saturday, it rained ALL DAY. The forecast didn’t mention it, so my family was entirely unprepared, left to stand outside without rain jackets or ponchos. We were freezing cold, but tried not to let it put a damper on our mood. The headliner on Saturday was THE Noah Kahan, who’s been one of my favorite artists for years. It was my second time getting to see him in concert, and he was nothing short of phenomenal. The whole crowd was engaged, and he and his band sounded amazing. We also lined up early, so we had a pretty good view, which was awesome. His performance was absolutely worth standing in the rain for hours. On Sunday, the weather was much better, which was a relief. The headliners for the day were Greta Van Fleet and Jack White (a last minute change due to the Foo Fighters dropping out). We left a little early because we wanted to get some rest, so we only got to catch Greta Van Fleet. Their music isn’t my vibe (it’s a bit loud and intense for me), but I thought they were incredibly talented. The Sunday standout out for me was actually not one of the headliners, but the band Bleachers. I knew of their music, but I had never really listened to them before. I think they totally stole the show. They had so much fun onstage and the whole crowd was having a great time. Their music was promptly added to my playlists! Overall, it was a fun experience for my first music festival, and I would suggest Soundside to anyone who lives in the area.Â
The next night, I traveled to NYC to see Conan Gray’s Found Heaven tour at Madison Square Garden. One of my close friends introduced me to Conan’s music a few years ago, and I’ve been obsessed since. As a thank you, I brought that friend to the concert with me, and we were both awestruck by how amazing it was. Our seats were a little far away, but a worker at the venue was giving out free ticket upgrades and we were lucky enough to get one. Our seats moved from the 200s to the 100s, and our new view was amazing! The opener was Maisie Peters, who I LOVE. I had the pleasure of seeing her in New York in 2022, and I was so excited to watch her perform again. Though I love Conan, Maisie was about 70% of the reason I bought the tickets, and she did amazing as expected. I also got my friend hooked on her music, which is a win in my eyes. As for the main act, Conan Gray was unbelievable. It was his first time playing at MSG, and you could just tell how excited and grateful he was. He truly left it all on the stage. His live vocals are unmatched, and the energy in the audience was amazing. He even played a beautiful unreleased song that I am so excited to listen to on repeat.
By the end of the weekend, I was EXHAUSTED, but so grateful for all the fun memories I got to make. Music is so important to me, and seeing artists play live always feels so wonderful and fulfilling. Â