As the pandemic has passed and we have gotten older, concerts have become extremely popular events in the lives of teenagers. The music, the lights, the experience is all very memorable. Artists such as Lizzo, Sabrina Carpenter and Luke Combs are coming to St. Louis to perform and students from our school are jumping at the chance to get tickets.

Sophomore Avery Adams recently purchased tickets to country singer Luke Combs’ concert on June 17 at the Enterprise Center, one of the most popular places for concerts in St. Louis.

“I have tickets in the pit and I love the pit at that venue because of how close you are to the singer,” Adams said. 

Luke Combs has 14 number one songs, yet Adams has a very specific one she’s hoping to hear.

“I’m really hoping to hear ‘Going, Going, Gone,’ which is probably like my fav song of his,” Adams said.

On April 25, Lizzo, an American singer, rapper and flutist, will be performing at the same venue. Junior PJ Kilcullen is attending and has never seen Lizzo in concert before.

“I’ve heard that Lizzo’s concerts are really fun and super iconic so I think I’ll have a good time,” Kilcullen said.

Kilcullen’s experience purchasing tickets was fairly easy.

“I spent $165 I believe and it was pretty easy all I had to do was wait in the queue, it was a small line and then I got tickets from there,” Kilcullen said.

For Adams, purchasing tickets was even easier.

 “I got the tickets as a Christmas present from my aunt but I think she got them pretty easily cause she has some kinda connection,” Adams said.

As concerts have gotten popular, so have music festivals such as Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Tomorrowland. Sophomore Gabby Vermette is going to Kansas City for an EDM (electronic dance music) festival called Dancefestopia with her sister, sophomore Brie Vermette. This won’t be her first experience at this concert but it will feel like a different concert.

“I went in 2021 but not 2022,” Vermette said. “At the festival, there are about 26 total artists and every set is unique,” 

Many have complications with buying tickets for festivals just like they would for regular concerts. Vermette found the process surprisingly easy though.

“We purchased VIP tickets which were roughly $300 but I believe normal tickets were around $150-$200. Each ticket is for three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Vermette said “Ticket purchases were easy but I do know that they sold out pretty fast,”

The experience of a festival is both exciting yet a little stressful such as the large crowds, the overstimulation, etc. Vermette finds this experience a good combination of thrilling and overwhelming. 

“My favorite parts of a festival are getting to see many known and unknown artists along with the people who attend. They are nice and respectful and I love the energy at these EDM festivals,” Vermette said. “Sometimes it’s a lot but it’s worth it,” 

Not only is the festival Dancefestopia taking place in Kansas City but so will Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. 

Kilcullen has tickets to Taylor’s concert as does sophomore Sophia Lundry. Compared to the other ticket purchase stories, this purchasing experience was a nightmare. 

“Taylor Swift tickets were $95 and it was a very stressful experience because there were a lot of people waiting,” Laundry said.

Kilcullen describes more in-depth the length he had to go through to get tickets.

“I can’t disclose that information on how much I paid for the tickets but it was pretty bad. I literally had to wait in the queue for like three hours and I placed 200th in line but they froze the queue after not even like 20 minutes and I had to wait three hours like I said,” Kilcullen said.

After three hours of waiting Kilcullen was successfully able to buy tickets, although now there is a big controversy around Ticketmaster, the website used most to purchase concert tickets. According to an article on NPR, (National Public Radio) critics have always had suspicions about the website since 2010. NPR reported that many people had similar or worse experiences as Kilcullen. After a bogus presale for Swift’s Eras Tour that left fans empty-handed, they decided it was time to take action. The result of this scandal was millions of Swift’s fans suing the company for fraud and antitrust violations. Manys fans organized protests and made t-shirts with words on them like Ticketswindle, Ticketmonoply, Stay Mad Swifties and the Tickectmaster logo with a red line across it. 

Despite the chaos around buying the tickets, Kilcullen is excited to hear Taylor Swift’s songs live.

“I’m hoping to hear songs from her album ‘Reputation’ like ‘Don’t Blame Me’ and ‘I Did Something Bad’ and also ‘Karma’ and ‘You’re On Your Own, Kid’ from ‘Midnight,’ and ‘Lavender Haze,’ of course,” Kilcullen said.

All and all, the entire concert experience triumphs the difficulties of ordering tickets.

Other concerts in STL

-Lizzo, Enterprise Center, April 25

-Sabrina Carpenter, The Factory, April 30

-Paramore, Enterprise Center, July 30

-Evolution Festival, Forest Park, Aug. 23-24

-Metallica, The Dome at America’s Center, Nov. 3

Other concerts near STL

-Billy Idol, Kansas City, May 11

-Kali Uchis, Chicago, May 15-16

-Ed Sheeran, Chicago, July 29

-Artic Monkeys, Chicago, Aug. 27