{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-tsx","path":"/concertculture","result":{"data":{"primeArticle":{"slug":"concertculture","excerpt":"From Beyoncé to Taylor Swift, how have artists this year redefined the modern-day concert experience?","headline":"Entering the Concert Renaissance","author":"Talia Sajor","authorbio":"","authoremail":"","authortwitter":"","coverimg":"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/concertculture/image1-7e2c7ef1137dd4f07c6f10c4f82e5e68.png","covercred":"Grace Nguyen, Talia Sajor and Colin Wong. Illustrations by Maya O’Kelly","coveralt":null,"articleType":"article","updated":"","content":[{"type":"text","value":"The lights dim. The pre-concert playlist comes to an abrupt stop. The chatter amid the stands grows into a unified, anticipatory scream. And as the figure on stage steps into view, the world narrows down. It’s just the artist and their fans."},{"type":"text","value":"Nowadays, it is nearly impossible to open social media without seeing footage from a concert. Posts showing off the best outfits for Harry Styles’ \"Love On Tour,\" tweets announcing Taylor Swift’s surprise songs during her \"The Eras Tour\" and videos of Beyoncé’s \"RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR\" mute challenge appear everywhere you look."},{"type":"text","value":"Live Nation Entertainment, the largest seller of tickets to live events and the company that owns Ticketmaster, reported that overall concert attendance rose to its highest number ever. In just the third quarter of 2023, Live Nation reported selling over 44 million tickets. After pausing during the COVID-19 pandemic, concerts have since made an extraordinary comeback, dominating the entertainment industry and even reviving local economies. But as these live events take the nation by storm, I have found myself wondering: What makes our current concert culture feel so different than previous decades?"},{"type":"text","value":"My first stadium concert experience was One Direction’s 2014 \"Where We Are Tour\" at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. The night prior, I had frantically prepared for the most important event in my 11-year-old life, crafting the perfect outfit with fabric paint and Union Jack duct tape. The next evening, I joined a sea of equally dedicated fans of the British-Irish boy band, proudly wearing a sloppily modified T-shirt proclaiming \"Tommo ’91\" and \"I Love 1D.\""},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Talia Sajor stands in front of a white wall with text that says “I just think you’re cool - I dig your cinema #KIAFORUMISHARRYHOUSE” while wearing a pink feather boa. Over the photo blue, pink, yellow, and orange lines are illustrated around the border. A sunflower and heart shaped cherries have also been illustrated over the border.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/concertculture/image4-7f0a8f776bc61be7c82c63db7431a4f1.png\",\"credit\":\"Photo courtesy of Talia Sajor and Illustration by Maya O’Kelly.\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"video","value":"{\"alt\":\"haha.\",\"url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ\",\"credit\":\"Photo courtesy of Talia Sajor and Illustration by Maya O’Kelly.\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"That massive One Direction show followed in the tradition of another European boy band that trailblazed our current understanding of concerts: The Beatles."},{"type":"text","value":"On Aug. 15, 1965, The Beatles performed at New York City’s Shea Stadium for over 55,000 dedicated Beatlemaniacs. While this may not be impressive by today’s standards – Taylor Swift averaged over 72,000 attendees per stop on \"The Eras Tour,\" according to Statista – music historians describe that concert as the first-ever stadium concert."},{"type":"text","value":"According to adjunct professor at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music David Leaf, prior to that night, watching an artist perform in a sports stadium at that scale had been a foreign concept."},{"type":"text","value":"\"The Beatles invented the idea of stadium tours,\" Leaf said. \"Everything about it was (a) spectacle without performance – there were no big screens. It wasn't about music. It was about mania.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Watching documentary footage of the historic concert, I was struck by the shots of thousands of fans screaming so loud that the noise overtook the sound of the band’s singing. The setting and the Beatlemaniacs’ unbridled passion catapulted me back to hearing the first beats of One Direction’s \"Midnight Memories\" and feeling the stadium’s air buzz with frenzy. If it weren’t for the primitive sound equipment, I could have convinced myself it was just another video from One Direction’s Pasadena show."},{"type":"text","value":"Leaf agrees that The Beatles were the blueprint for the type of concert culture most students like me grew up with. But 58 years after this paradigm-shifting concert and almost 10 years after the One Direction Pasadena show, concerts are about more than mania: They’re music, spectacle and mania all at once."},{"type":"text","value":"To me, no tour encapsulates this new phase for concerts quite like Beyoncé’s \"RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR.\" The Houston-born artist’s tour supported her seventh studio album of the same name, which brings ballroom culture – created by queer Black icons – to the sonic and visual forefront."},{"type":"text","value":"Beyoncé issued a strict all-silver dress code for her crowds in celebration of her birthday on Sept. 4. When I found myself prepping for her Sept. 1 \"RENAISSANCE\" show in Los Angeles, I maniacally searched for any silver pieces hanging in my closet. Paint and duct tape would not cut it this time."},{"type":"text","value":"I finally narrowed down my outfit: a rhinestone-studded cowboy hat with matching boots, a black midi skirt, a white corset top and a belted chain – the sole silver piece I could find. Twenty-four hours later, I stepped into SoFi Stadium and found myself amid a crowd that felt less like concertgoers and more like a chrome-sheened fashion show."},{"type":"text","value":"It’s clear that the spectacle has now converged within the crowd."},{"type":"text","value":"Fans put astronomically more effort into preparing concert outfits compared to my tween experience with One Direction or the Beatlemaniacs back in the ‘60s. According to Bruins, who attended concerts this summer, concertgoers’ extravagant ensembles have become a defining aspect of shows’ atmospheres."},{"type":"text","value":"Third-year music history and industry student Grace Nguyen dressed up for the Santa Clara show of Taylor Swift’s \"The Eras Tour\" this past summer. The international tour featured songs from the different eras of the pop star’s career, from her country-hit album \"Fearless\" to the folk-inspired \"Evermore.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Nguyen said the dress code for Swift’s tour was to piece together something relating to her varied discography or moments from throughout her career, including exact replicas of Swift’s own tour costumes. In Nguyen's case, she opted for a mixture of Swift’s debut and \"Red\" albums, resulting in an A-line white dress and brown knee-high boots, all paired with a red lip."},{"type":"text","value":"Alongside the various outfits worn by Swifties worldwide also comes a very important element of any Eras Tour get-up – lots of friendship bracelets."},{"type":"text","value":"Although prior concert subcultures have adopted bracelet trading, such as kandi trading in rave culture, Swifties adopted the practice after the release of Swift’s song \"You’re On Your Own, Kid.\" Now ushered into the mainstream, friendship bracelet trading has become an important way for fans to band together and create a tighter community for themselves, according to <a href=\"https://www.today.com/popculture/music/taylor-swift-eras-tour-friendship-bracelets-rcna99768\">Today</a>."},{"type":"text","value":"\"I know friendship bracelets didn’t start with ‘The Eras Tour,’ but I think it definitely got expedited, and it was a catalyst for most concerts to do it,\" said third-year psychobiology student Colin Wong. \"People would have 300 on carabiners just ready to trade and hand out.\""},{"type":"text","value":"As outfits evolved, so did audience participation. Audiences have engaged in practices such as lighter tributes as far back as the ’60s, but 2023 audiences have developed increasingly niche and detailed ways to engage with their favorite artists."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Grace Nguyen poses wearing a cowboy hat, denim top, denim jeans and cowboy boots in the parking lot in front of a concert area. Over the photo, a disco ball and music notes have been illustrated.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/concertculture/image2-42319ba136afb6d076aa36bd9c403c9e.png\",\"credit\":\"Photo courtesy of Grace Nguyen and Illustration by Maya O’Kelly.\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"During \"The Eras Tour,\" audiences participated in unique chants tailored to specific songs, such as yelling, \"One, two, three, let’s go bitch!\" before the electropop \"Delicate,\" Nguyen said. Similarly, those among the \"RENAISSANCE\" crowd were encouraged to click their fans throughout Beyoncé's rhythmic \"HEATED.\" While Nguyen had interacted with artists at prior concerts, she said the \"Eras\" and \"RENAISSANCE\" tours brought the intensity to a new level."},{"type":"text","value":"She added that this audience participation works to strengthen the overall connection between the fans and the artist."},{"type":"text","value":"\"It's very interesting to see how artists will participate, especially big ones like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé that feel so far away from us,\" Nguyen said. \"But in concerts, they make it feel like you're the only one there – like you are literally with them.\""},{"type":"text","value":"These highly specific interactions have trickled down into smaller concerts, including those of Filipina-British singer-songwriter Beabadoobee."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"It's very interesting to see how artists will participate, especially big ones like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé that feel so far away from us. But in concerts, they make it feel like you're the only one there – like you are literally with them.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"As I waited in line on a crowded downtown LA street to attend her \"Beatopia\" tour at The Novo, a group of fans passed out pink paper hearts. They told us to hold up the hearts during Bea’s \"Ripples,\" an introspective, guitar-driven tune. I felt it was a much more personalized and thoughtful interaction for the artist than holding up my cell phone flashlight as I often had at prior concerts."},{"type":"text","value":"As audiences level up their presence at concerts, artists are similarly bringing a new emphasis on visuals and narratives to their shows."},{"type":"text","value":"Stig Edgren, a UCLA lecturer who teaches a course on special event and concert production, said \"The Eras Tour\" has redefined what a concert should look like on a technical level. Although the general structure of a great show has remained the same, he said the overall amount of money on producing these extravagant concerts has reached a historical peak."},{"type":"text","value":"\"What she (Swift) did is, she broke it down into a very theatrical type of setting with all … the 10 different eras,\" Edgren said. \"Each one had its own style, its own look, its own visuals, its own content, its own set pieces that came in.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Edgren also added that such effervescent production value heightens the overall audience experience and immerses concertgoers into the story that the artist is telling."},{"type":"text","value":"Watching Beyoncé’s backup dancers vogue down the stage as a giant disco ball spun above them, I can attest that it felt more like I was in a ballroom scene than a sports stadium. In contrast, the One Direction tour from nine years ago merely featured a simple stage screen that would flash a different pattern every so often, along with the occasional confetti and fireworks."},{"type":"text","value":"As concerts have evolved to become more than just music, the fight to snag tickets has intensified. Between ticket scalpers, record high demand and Ticketmaster’s growing monopoly, the process of acquiring tickets is now a large portion of the concert experience for many, myself included. This past year, the scramble for \"Eras\" tickets sent such shockwaves through the country that California lawmakers even <a href=\"https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-06-30/california-taylor-swift-ticket-fiasco-ticketmaster-bills-legislature\">took action</a> against Ticketmaster."},{"type":"text","value":"Having attended 14 \"Love On Tour\" shows, 10 Jonas Brothers and Swift concerts each, and \"RENAISSANCE\" once this past year alone, Wong has perfected a complex to-do list to ensure he aces the purchasing stage of concert attendance."},{"type":"text","value":"Wong said he first gathers his co-workers and has them all preregister for tickets, improving their collective odds of receiving a presale code. On the day of the sale, he logs into several accounts on multiple devices, hoping to get lucky and escape the queue."},{"type":"text","value":"In addition to the traditional websites, Wong said he has also purchased tickets through accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, that advertise last-minute tickets – a side business born in the wake of Ticketmaster difficulties."},{"type":"text","value":"If someone is lucky enough to escape the Ticketmaster queue with tickets still available, they are often forced to bear a high financial burden. For example, \"Eras\" tickets ranged from $49 to $499 without fees at initial sale, while resale tickets rose to prices between $500 and $7,000, according to StyleCaster. Leaf said these high prices are due to the recent advent of dynamic pricing, where companies change a ticket’s price based on a product’s demand."},{"type":"text","value":"\"When I think of taking a family to a sporting event, taking your kid to a concert, suddenly it's a week or two weeks’ salary – it's pretty insane,\" Leaf said. \"So it starts to make the events for the privileged, and that's not good.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Edgren said ticket purchasing difficulties stem from the high demand for live events within a post-COVID-19 lockdown society. According to Edgren, the Live Nation monopoly has capitalized on consumers’ insatiable appetites for events following 2020 losses, increasing its prices to compensate for lockdown losses."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"When I think of taking a family to a sporting event, taking your kid to a concert, suddenly it's a week or two weeks’ salary – it's pretty insane. So it starts to make the events for the privileged, and that's not good.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"\"I think it’s (concert culture) come back stronger than it ever has,\" Edgren said. \"I actually thought there would be maybe a year or two after COVID where things wouldn't be as over the top. ... It didn't take any time at all.\""},{"type":"text","value":"Although much has changed between the Beatlemania of the ’60s and the \"Eras\" and \"RENAISSANCE\" tours of today, concertgoers of every era have experienced the same communal bonds. As concertgoers dance, scream and cry in the stands, knowing everyone within the venue also shares a mutual affection for the same artist is an extremely emotionally validating experience, Leaf said."},{"type":"text","value":"\"I remember when (during) the first solo tour that Paul McCartney did in 1976, when he played three nights at the Forum, I slept overnight on a sidewalk outside the Forum,\" Leaf said. \"Those were actually fun communal experiences, because you're all there for the same reason.\""},{"type":"text","value":"While Wong said he typically attends concerts alone, bracelet trading has offered him a way to break the ice and meet fellow Swifties. He said concerts allow him to create friendships with other attendees and even reconnect with these friends at other shows."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Colin Wong smiles wearing a colorful, metallic tassel vest inside of the concert arena for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour. Over the photo, a friendship bracelet with color beads spelling out “Taylor Eras Tour” is illustrated.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/concertculture/image3-3a64a8c923a4b9e2ac3c701ce74953c0.png\",\"credit\":\"Photo courtesy of Colin Wong and Illustration by Maya O’Kelly.\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Nguyen similarly appreciates the unity concerts bring. She said with social media, fans can share their excitement for the concert with other concertgoers before experiencing the show together in person."},{"type":"text","value":"\"It's definitely not just about the artists – it's about being with the fandom that you see online in real life,\" Nguyen said."},{"type":"text","value":"The experiences of Wong and Nguyen ring true to me. Although concert production and culture are now dialed up to 11, shows are still fundamentally about sharing our love for music. My favorite concert memories are not the outfits I wore or the set pieces I witnessed but instead the human connections I made with other concertgoers."},{"type":"text","value":"As I chanted the lyrics to \"Diana\" at the One Direction concert almost a decade ago, I felt a sense of community with the thousands of other concertgoers. Since then, I have attended dozens of other concerts not only to see some of my favorite songs performed live but in search of that communal experience. Every time I look at the people around me in the club, theater or stadium, I feel that same connection to the concertgoers surrounding me as we unite to celebrate our favorite artists."},{"type":"text","value":"I know this connection will draw me back to countless more concerts throughout my life. I can only hope everyone can experience it at least once in their life."}]}},"pageContext":{"term":"fall23","slug":"concertculture"}},"staticQueryHashes":[]}