I have attended small, second floor bar concerts, and large concerts, but Harry Styles has possibly drawn the largest crowd I have ever seen so far. My mom took me to see Big Time Rush as my first concert when I was in elementary school, and ever since then I’ve been hooked. I have attended numerous concerts with my parents, which are some of my most cherished memories. I have lately realized how much these experiences are taken for granted by music fans.

The first concert I went to since February of 2020 was late fall of last year, where NF performed a really remarkable set, which I reviewed for this newspaper. I recently went to another concert for the band I Don’t Know How But They Found Me, which was truly the best concert experience I could have asked for. I forgot how much I took for granted the adrenaline-filled hours of seeing one of your favorite artists on stage. Howling every word to a song and shouting when an artist plays with their vocals on stage is truly something magical that we would not get without live music.

According to the U.S. News and World Report Health section, there are proven wellness benefits to attending concerts as well. They are likely to reduce stress, cause pain relief before, after, and during surgeries. Dr. Steven Eisenberg of San Diego says that when endorphins are released while attending concerts they block pain. They can create more connectivity with a group of people, result in good exercise and improve your mindset to become more positive.

This does not have to be a large Stage AE or PPG Paints show if you are local to Pittsburgh; supporting a singer in a restaurant can be eye-opening too. You never know if you could be someone’s first fan(s) unless they have an evident music platform or social media following.

However, if you are in a crowd, this does create a sense of community. Fans of an artist, no matter their differences, can come together and see a part of themselves in a singular person’s music. To me, there is beauty in that sense of belonging which deserves to be celebrated. Artists could have a difficult time with motivation if no one wanted to see them perform in real life, since that is where they could meet people and deal with stage fright firsthand.

Having a niche environment is important for certain genres. Punk music fans are obviously going to have an opposite experience from a country music fan. The artist has the power to push this even further, by asking the fans to yell or dance together to try and bond in their own respective subgroups.

I will say though that if you have one absolutely terrible time being present at a concert, I would not give up. Trust me, I wouldn’t want to sit through the person I paid to see stumble through their words or stand in one place the entire time either. Experiment with another artist, genre, and venue if possible to see the fit that is right for you.