Music is an essential part of my life. I listen to as much music as possible and especially love to experience live music. Naturally, I try to get tickets to as many concerts as possible. This year, I was lucky enough to go to seven concerts! Each was so unique and fun that I wanted to share my experiences.
The first concert I attended this year was for the band Sir Chloe in Houston, Texas. The event was at White Oak Music Hall, which has multiple venues. At the time of the concert, PinkPantheress was also holding a show in the outdoor venue, so we accidentally stood in line for her show at first by mistake. However, once we figured out where we were meant to go, we got a spot in the front row! The venue was quite small and the stage was low, so the entire show was pretty intimate and a new experience for me. Some of the highlight songs of the concert included “Should I,” “Center,” and “Know Better.” I had been listening to these songs on repeat before the show, and they did not disappoint! The band sounded amazing live and the vocals and instruments were exactly like the studio version. At the end of the show, the band’s bassist gave us the setlist which was pretty cool. I enjoyed seeing some of my favorite songs performed right in front of me, and I would definitely go to their concert again.
In May, I traveled to Sugarland, Texas to see P1Harmony. Before the concert, we handed out handmade bracelets and received a lot of cute bracelets, photos, and other items in return. We almost missed the beginning of the concert due to long lines to buy concert merchandise, but entered the venue exactly on time. One of the group’s members, Jiung, was absent from the show due to an injury, but the members’ energy was super high, and the show was a lot of fun. A cool feature of the show was that the members had their own solo performance, featuring songs like “Kill Bill” by SZA and “Praise The Lord” by A$AP Rocky. The song I was most looking forward to was the group’s most recent title track “Killin’ It,” and it was more amazing than I expected it to be! I definitely lost my voice during the song (which ended up being #2 on my Spotify Wrapped later in the year). Towards the end of the show, the group members actually went into the crowd to interact with audience members while singing a few final songs which was something I had never seen before. I enjoyed the energy of the event with the intricate choreography and outfit changes throughout.
Over the summer, I had the opportunity to see Lauren Daigle here in Lafayette. It seemed like the entire city showed up! I saw so many people I knew which made the experience super unique. I actually had seen her in concert once before, but I still only knew a couple of her songs. Regardless, she and her team brought great energy to the stage with the lighting effects and backgrounds. Surprisingly, two people from the audience were able to go on stage and sing with Lauren. Something that stood out to me about this show was that there were opportunities to sponsor a child through ChildFund and that many of the concert’s proceeds would be donated to the cause. It is always amazing to see artists funding good causes through their shows.
In July, I saw ATEEZ in Arlington, Texas at Globe Life Field. The venue was huge and the lines wrapped around the building and even went through nearby streets. Luckily, we arrived early enough to avoid that and could give out freebies to other attendees. I received so many cute items and met a lot of nice people! Since it is regularly used as a baseball field, the venue had many snacks and drinks which was super nice. The concert was a huge production complete with cool lighting, sets, and costumes, and the energy of the songs was high enough to match. Some of the group’s songs were performed in units, or by only a few members, which meant that everyone got their moment to shine onstage. A unit’s song that stood out to me was “Youth” performed by Yunho and Mingi because it brought me to tears with its heartwarming and nostalgic mood. The most energetic song was definitely “Guerilla” as it featured a part where the entire venue sang along very loudly. The merchandise at this concert was also a highlight of the experience because it was very cute and came with a gift.
I got the amazing opportunity to see Billie Eilish perform at Madison Square Garden in New York City over fall break. I had never been to MSG before which was exciting as it is a very iconic music venue. The concert was huge and a lot of people were in attendance. Billie performed a lot of very popular songs both from her newer albums and older ones! I knew a lot more songs than I expected and even fell in love with songs I had never heard before. I was extremely impressed with Billie’s live vocals as she sang in a variety of styles. She even brought out her brother Finneas to play with her!
Later in October, I got lucky enough to see Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour for a second time in New Orleans. Having already seen the show, I knew all of the songs from most sections of the show! Seeing Taylor perform is so much fun because her songs are so well-known. I didn’t know any of the songs from her new album, but I enjoyed listening to them for the first time and seeing the props, sets, and backgrounds she used during the era. The surprise songs were my favorite part of the show, though, because Taylor performed a mashup of “Afterglow” and “Dress” on guitar, then “How You Get The Girl” and “Clean” on piano. It was actually the 10th anniversary of 1989 that night, and she perfectly honored it with her performance!
The last concert I attended in 2024 was KISS OF LIFE in late November. I had been looking forward to the concert since ticketing was announced and had bought an outfit months in advance. The tickets were all general admission, which meant we had to show up early to get a good spot on the floor. Luckily, we could see the entire stage from our spot and got amazing videos of the show! I had a lot of fun handing out freebies and talking to people in line, and I got super cute merchandise inside the venue (which came with a free gift!). A big highlight of the show was when the group performed “Nobody Knows” with a fan onstage. I knew every song (besides one unreleased one) and had so much fun singing along. “Get Loud,” the group’s most recent title track, was a great opener to the show. The group’s stage presence was amazing even though the stage wasn’t that big, and their singing and dancing were flawless!
I am so grateful for these experiences and can only hope to see more artists in 2025!
