Live Music: Adventures in Concertgoing

by Barrett Holsapple ’26 on February 26, 2026

A&E - Music

I’ll never forget the summer after fifth grade when my mom made us show up hours early to the Imagine Dragons concert. I didn’t understand why we would do that. Sure, I absolutely loved the band at that age, but the concert started at 7 p.m., so why would we show up at 3 p.m.? After endless hours of 11-year-old me sitting against the brick wall at the Prudential Center in Newark, the doors finally opened, and the long General Admission line was ushered through security and out to the stage.

It wasn’t until the concert began and my little hands were gripping the barricade railing as I stared directly into lead singer Dan Reynolds’ eyes, that I understood why my mom insisted on getting there so early. My mom truly created a monster that day.

Though I’m not an Imagine Dragons fan anymore, that night still influences how I approach concerts. In my opinion, there is nothing more euphoric than being at the barricade for your favorite artist. There’s no worrying about what song comes next in the setlist, because no matter what it is, you’ll know every lyric. The atmosphere, especially in the pit, can foster a surprisingly loving environment. Everyone is there for the same reason: they love the music and the person performing it.

That shared passion can make it very easy to bond with the people around you. I’ve found that many fans will have each other’s backs when it comes to enjoying the show, whether this means saving spots for strangers, using the bathroom, or even defending others against disrespectful fans who are ruining the experience. Recent trends like themed outfits, DIY clothing pieces, and homemade beaded bracelets have only strengthened that sense of connection. A show isn’t just a performance anymore; it’s a shared experience.

But over the past few years, with the rise of resale platforms and skyrocketing demand, the culture and the market have changed significantly. Getting tickets, let alone securing a spot close to the stage, has become increasingly difficult. It’s now normal to skip class or work just to sit in an online waiting room for hours, placed into a queue, and hoping that when your turn finally comes, tickets are still available.

And if you do manage to get through, you’re left deciding whether hundreds of dollars is worth a few hours of music. Price gouging has made concerts practically unaffordable for the average person. For major mainstream artists, it’s even become common for fans to camp outside venues days before the show just to secure a spot in the General Admission line. Somewhere along the way, concerts stopped being just about music.

Social media has also blurred the line between artist and audience. With constant access to livestreams, interviews, behind-the-scenes content, and curated glimpses into artists’ personal lives, it’s easy for fans to feel deeply connected to someone they’ve never met. While parasocial relationships aren’t new, they’ve intensified in the digital age. For some fans, attending one show isn’t enough. Somehow, small groups of fans manage to follow artists across the country, attending multiple shows on the same tour in different cities. The performance becomes less about the music and more about proximity. And for some, that feeling of closeness is powerful enough to justify extreme measures.

Live music culture will continue to evolve, as it always has. The pit will likely always hold that same chaotic, euphoric energy that hooked me at 11 years old. But as ticket prices rise and fandoms intensify, the real question isn’t whether the magic will disappear, it’s how far people will have to go to experience it.

I’ll always chase the barricade. Not just for the view, but for the whole experience: the hours on the pavement, the strangers who become friends, the split second when the lights go down and it all feels worth it. I just hope that experience doesn’t become something fewer and fewer people get to understand.

A Successful Summer in the RI Music Scene

by The Cowl Editor on September 3, 2021

Arts & Entertainment

A Successful Summer in the RI Music Scene

Local Bands, Venues Resume Live Performance

By Jack Downey ’23

The summer of 2020 was a bleak time for musicians everywhere, especially those performing live shows. As the COVID-19 pandemic raged throughout the world, people were forced to spend much of their summers hunkered down, biding their time until life began to return to normal.

However, to say no good music came out of this time would be a lie. Many artists capitalized on their newfound abundance of free time to write and record. Nonetheless, there was a sense of tension regarding what would become of the music industry.

However, the summer of 2021 was a completely different picture. With a brief window of semi-normalcy made possible by the COVID-19 vaccines before the Delta Variant began fighting back, music surged back into the world. Suddenly, concerts and other live music events became commonplace once more. Although there were still certain rules in place to mitigate the re-emergence of the Coronavirus, live music was definitely back in season.

Rhode Island was no exception to this resurgence. As people began to feel more comfortable stepping out of the safety of their homes, Providence venues such as Dusk and Askew offered them fun places to go. The former began to host spacious outdoor shows and the latter hosted socially-distanced open mic nights. Eventually, as COVID-19 cases lowered even more, both of these places began to host weekly concerts that were booked in the blink of an eye. Local bands jumped at the chance to get back to doing what they love, and many played to record crowds as Rhode Islanders, starved of the live music experience, flocked to shows.

The need for live music was so great that some bands took matters into their own hands and hosted large house shows as the most popular local venues slowly reopened. For instance, Atomic Action and Youth Distribute, two record labels from Middletown, Rhode Island, threw barn shows. The first one of these performances was hosted on June 14 at Simmons Farm and featured a bill including local legends Bullet Proof Backpack as well as Massachusetts screamers Peace Test, New Hampshire-based hardcore band Tossed Aside, and the righteous fury of New Jersey band Gel. Despite the threat of downpours, people showed up en masse to throw down in the mosh pit. Merch was sold in spades, as was vegan food from the Born From Pain food truck. The show ended as lightning began crashing all around, providing a dramatic conclusion to an intense but welcome experience.

Another example of a house venue offering a unique live experience this past summer was the Lake House in North Smithfield. Hosted by Seb Toledo of the band Amanita, shows were held out among the trees near a serene lake. While bands played, attendees could go cool down from the summer heat or simply relax near the water. The atmosphere of this venue is unlike any other in the area, and it will be interesting to see what they do next.

Famed venue AS220, located in downtown Providence, mainly stuck to livestreams. However, referring to these productions as “livestreams” would be somewhat inaccurate, as their production quality was off the charts. Recently, AS220 has begun allowing people back inside their doors, combining limited capacity concerts with their high-grade video productions. This setup gives bands the unique opportunity to have professional live footage and audio at their disposal, an asset that local music groups hardly ever have. These recordings could help give local bands a more legitimate sheen, and AS220 are doing the scene a great service.

Although the Delta Variant now seems to be lurking around every corner, local music does not appear to be going anywhere for now. Hopefully, the forward momentum established during the summer months can continue into the fall, giving local bands more of a chance to do what they do best: create and perform.