By Bree Dixon and Amelia Talbott / Staff Reporters
Senior Reese McClellan
Senior Reese McClellan has attended 14 concerts throughout her life, expanding her love for live music from an early age.
Out of all of the artists whose concerts she has attended, McClellan said a few memorable ones have deepened her love for live music, namely Drake, Taylor Swift, Travis Scott and Playboi Carti.
“My overall favorite is Travis Scott because it was super high energy, and he’s a really good performer,” she said. “The production was very well done and well planned.”
McClellan said her love for concerts stems from the feeling of being with an artist that she admires with many other fans that share an appreciation for live music.
Other than the audience, she explained there are a lot of different factors which make concerts more enjoyable.
“Having an engaged artist who has good energy and who wants to be there is important,” McClellan explained. “Knowing the songs and having a good set, stage design and production I think are also important.”
Despite being able to see plenty of concerts, McClellan, like most people, said she had issues with recent ticket pricing and with websites such as Ticketmaster. With the increase in people looking to attend concerts and issues with resellers, obtaining tickets has become increasingly difficult.
“I think it’s unfortunate that the ticket prices get so high with resellers, but it’s kind of inevitable and hard to tackle,” she said. “It kind of becomes about who knows more people and who’s more connected to get tickets that are cheaper or better priced.”
Sophomore Allison Lefkowitz
Sophomore Allison Lefkowitz discovered her love for music festivals after attending Wonderbus with her friends.
Wonderbus is a three-day music festival in Columbus, Lefkowitz explained. She said that over the years she has gone to the festival, her experiences and memories have kept her returning.
“I have been going to this festival every year since it started in 2019,” she said. “This past year was my fourth year attending the festival.”
In August, Lefkowitz said she attended Wonderbus with her friends, where they discovered new artists and saw some of their favorite musicians and most anticipated shows.
Lefkowitz explained since festivals are made up of multiple artists performing at the same time, she was able to experience a lot more than she would at a regular concert.
“I also enjoy how at Wonderbus they have multiple stages, so if you don’t like the artist at one stage, you are able to move to a different stage to hear different music,” she said.
Lefkowitz said last year she was able to see numerous sets over the span of each of the three days, including Pitbull, Demi Lovato and Sean Kingston. She also found a few artists she had never heard before.
“I discovered The Driver Era at the festival, and I absolutely loved them,” she said.
Lefkowitz’s experiences at Wonderbus sparked her curiosity in exploring music festivals.
“Wonderbus has so many different options and they are all amazing,” she said. “Next year, I am definitely going back.”
Social studies teacher Michael Featherstone
After attending over 200 concerts, social studies teacher Michael Featherstone believes the biggest change in concert culture is the use of cell phones.
As electronics become frequently used, Featherstone said concertgoers are recording events rather than enjoying them.
He said trying to see around people who are holding up phones can be difficult.
“It used to be that people were just in the moment,” Featherstone explained.
Another big change involving concerts has been artists’ and bands’ response to COVID-19, he said.
Featherstone explained he has seen bands become more vocal about their appreciation of being able to perform live for an audience since the pandemic.
“I get the impression that a lot of them were worried during COVID-19 about how that was it for what they did and what they loved,” he added.
Featherstone said he has been to concerts by himself, as well as with friends and family.
“I have a friend that likes a lot of the same music as me, and I now have started taking my son to concerts,” he said.
Experiencing many different types of live music, Featherstone said his favorite concert he has gone to has been Iron Maiden. He has seen them in concert nine times, and each time they change up the setlist slightly, and the vibes within the audience are also different, he explained.
“It is fun to see what has changed but also when they do something the same,” Featherstone said. “It’s best when there is a mix of old and new.”
Sophomore Avery George
Sophomore Avery George attended the first night of The Eras Tour in Pittsburgh and described it as an experience like no other.
George said her aunt and mom both tried to get a presale code to buy tickets and decided whoever got the code would buy the tickets for the six members of their family attending the show. Her aunt got the tickets after waiting in the queue for seven hours, she added.
George has attended the Reputation Tour and The 1989 World Tour in addition to The Eras Tour, she said.
“For me, there was a lot more buildup for The Eras Tour because I feel like I was older and could appreciate it more,” George explained.
Ticketmaster shut down, preventing people from buying tickets, and leaving them disappointed and upset, she said.
Even with the technical problems of purchasing, the The Eras Tour was still worth it and felt more rewarding, she explained.
In addition to the challenge of getting the chance to buy tickets after waiting in long queues and navigating Ticketmaster, the cost of tickets could get very expensive, especially with resellers, George explained.
“For Taylor Swift, I think the price is worth it, but for a regular concert I don’t think it is,” George explained.
Between the surprise songs and intensity throughout the stadium, the experience was amazing and provided a more secure atmosphere for a concert than others, she said.
“The lead up to the concert was amazing,” she said. “It was the most excited I have ever been.”
