2023 was full of ups and downs, but one of my favorite things about it was how many concerts I was able to go to. Live music is one of my favorite things about life and to be able to experience so much of it this year was truly a blessing. Aside from all the shows I got to see while working at concert venues and the small shows I helped organize, I saw approximately 17 shows with the longest streak being a show a week for 7 weeks straight. This has been the most concerts I’ve seen in a single year ever and I’m excited to recap them!

So, to start off my concert journey, in March I was able to go on an experience of a lifetime to SXSW (South By Southwest). During this mixed media conference, I was able to see movie and show premieres, bond with so many of my college peers, and experience an abundance of live music. While I saw a bunch of sets during the trip, these are the shows that were fully formed concert experiences.

1st (March 13th): Sparkling 

  The first concert of the year, and the trip, was a band called SPARKLING. This is a German band that performs multilingual pop with a punky edge. I’d never heard of them beforehand, but it was honestly a really fun experience. Even though I couldn’t understand a lot of the lyrics (due to the fact it was in a different language) I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Their stage presence was great, the music was fun, and the energy in the room was very memorable. I would say it was definitely a great show to start off with.

2nd (14th): Saba & JID

This was the 2nd show of the trip and my first rap concert ever, Which is very weird because I love rap and hip-hop. I’d been listening to both of them for a while and they did not disappoint. Saba was absolutely amazing and made the crowd feel his passion. JID got the crowd hyped up and the feeling in that arena was electric. 

3rd March (15th): Tommy Lefroy

The 3rd show of the trip had to have been my favorite! I absolutely adore their voices and their songwriting skills. This show was everything I wanted and more. I left this show feeling warm and content.

4th (16th): Armani White, Dani Brown, & Jpegmafia 

There is always something fun about hearing a viral song live. When Armani played “Billie Eilish” the crowd went wild! This concert was really cool and I didn’t feel like they were more established artists playing because they were so interactive with the crowd.

5th (18th): Mike Dimes & Jeleel

The last concert of the trip and it was actually insane! Mike was fun, but the real star of the show was Jeleel. If you’ve never seen any footage of this guy’s shows, do yourself a favor and look him up. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and the next thing I knew he’s ripping his shirt off and jumping off the scaffolding. Needless to say, it was an experience.

6th (March 23rd): Noah Kahan

NOAH KAHAN. Two words… holy shit! This was the concert of a lifetime. Not only was it amazing, but it also held a special place in my heart because I helped bring him to my university. I was his runner and was able to actually meet him (He’s the sweetest human, in case you’re wondering). This show was something I'd never experienced before. A turning point in my career aspirations and one of the best nights of my life.

7th ( June 20th): Anees

Anees was just so humble. The amount of times you could see he was soaking it all in was so heartwarming. He and his team were so personable and made everyone feel like family. They leaned into the summer camp concept that the album was based around really well. Overall a great experience 

8th (25th): James Blake & Steve Lacy (RESET)

I went into this festival day looking forward to seeing Steve Lacy and was ambushed emotionally by James Blake and his singing of “Godspeed” by Frank Ocean. One of the most heart-wrenching songs by one of my favorite artists and probably the closest I will ever get to hearing Frank. I wasn’t expecting James Blake to fuck me up emotionally the way he did, but damn. After getting sucker punched (in the best way) the crowd was brought back to life by Steve who closed out the festival with a bang, he did so well!

9th (July 21st): Grip

I had never heard of this artist until I saw that he was coming to one of the venues I work at. I have a new love for rap live and thought that it’d be fun. So glad I decided to go! The show was small, but that made it easy for the artist to be intimate with the crowd. Thoroughly enjoyed the vibe of this show. 

10th (23rd): Backseat Lovers

This was my 4th time seeing them and they really do not disappoint. The night was chaotic due to lightning delays and almost even got canceled, but even after all the craziness they were phenomenal. One of my top live music recommendations. I think everyone should see them live if given the opportunity.

11th (Aug 26th): 5SOS

My 13-year-old self was pissing herself the entirety of this concert. They were so good and I got to live out my early teen dream. It was kinda really amazing seeing them fully grown and reflecting on their journey as a band. I cried tears of joy multiple times and to make the night even better I got to hear “Don’t Stop” Live. Yes, I am a don’t stopper and I'll stand by that.

12th (29th): Dominic Fike

I am so glad I got to see him before he fully blew up and will exclusively be performing arenas. He was probably in the top 5 of the shows I saw this year and maybe even top 10 of all time. He is such a talented human and I can’t even fully put into words how much talent he has. Everything about the concert from the production to the setlist was phenomenal. Plus he’s such a cutie, so that definitely didn’t hurt the ranking;)

13th (Sept 5th): Daniel Caesar

I am still in shock from this show. The production was definitely one of the best of the year. His voice is phenomenal and his songs induce the best kind of heartache. Hearing them live was genuinely an experience that will be hard to match. His creativity showed throughout the entire show, even up until the very end when he did his encore from his tour bus. I’d never seen anything like it. 

14th (12th): Noah Kahan

Second time seeing him and he outdid himself again. He sold out the venue I attended and you could tell, it was packed, but that just added to the special feeling that I still get when I think of this concert. It was beautifully done and one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to.

15th (23rd): Noah Cyrus

This girl can SING! It’s always sorta a shock when someone sounds just as good, if not better, live vs. recorded music. She popped off and left that venue, and me quaking. The emotions that you could see flow through her during every song was truly beautiful. 

16th (Oct 30th): Dro Kenji

Wasn’t very familiar with his music prior to scoring tickets, but truly was a very memorable night and all the artists did really well.

17th (December 15th): LANY Radio Show

LANY has been a band that I’ve wanted to see for YEARS! It was well worth the wait because damn.. that was amazing. You could feel how grateful they were for everyone that was there supporting them. Hearing everyone sing along to the songs was magic. It was a great show to end the year with.

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