Arguably one of Taylor Swift’s biggest fans, senior Grace Henschel will never forget the four concerts that she attended this past summer. With the perfect outfit on, posters made, makeup done and accompanied by her friends and fellow fans, she had the best four nights of her life. The question for the rest of us is this: How did she, and other concert goers this past year, make the most out of their concert experiences?
The first step in making your experience worthwhile is to prepare early. Concerts can get expensive, as there are things you may buy besides a ticket including $10 chicken tenders and a $6 bottle of water. To prevent your total bill from racking up, buying your ticket early at face value from a reliable site like TicketMaster can save you the cash you’ll need for those nugs.
In addition to preparing early, it’s also important to prepare for the inevitable. At a concert, you’ll most likely be taking videos or snapchats on your phone, draining your battery life in the process. According to senior Chloe Nguyen, “I wish I brought a [portable] charger to the concert,” making my next piece of advice to do just that.
A favorable concert experience is contingent with doing everything early. If you already got your ticket early for a good price, you don’t want to put that to waste and wait for hours trying to get into the venue. Whether the concert is general admission or assigned seating, getting to the venue 30 minutes before the doors open can help beat the crowd.
For senior Leah Mietus, going to the Demi Lovato concert with fellow senior Bayan Hassan was a night she would never forget. Therefore, my next tip on how to enjoy your show is to enjoy it in the company of others. While you are completely capable of appreciating a concert by yourself, “Being able to make memories with your friends and seeing an artist of your choosing at the same time is killing two birds with one stone,” Mietus said.
Another issue students face when trying to attend a concert is figuring out how they’re going to get there. Parking for concerts can be a nightmare, especially if you’re in D.C for venues such as Capital One Arena or The Anthem, so using a rideshare app is key. “I always split an Uber with my friends so all we have to do is get dropped off. It’s a lot easier than trying to find parking,” sophomore Owen Matus said.
Before you buy your ticket, it’s also important to take note of what day of the week it’s on and what time it’s at. As high school students, there is nothing worse than finding a concert you want to go to is on a Tuesday night at 8 p.m.. While this is not something you can easily change, it’s crucial to do your work before you leave as you will probably crash when you get home.
