Concerts During COVID? Let’s Hear About Those Experiences!

Hear about Harry Styles, Michael Bublé, Lil Baby, and more.

Tiffany Quach, Staffer

Covid, the nationwide pandemic that shut the whole world down. A time where most of us were kept in our houses, away from the public, and specifically, away from concert crowds. Now that the world is slowly getting back to normal, concerts are starting to happen again. 

How do students feel about attending huge crowds after a whole year? 

Senior Isabella Mendez recently attended Harry Styles’ HSLOT (“Harry Styles Live On Tour”) Concert in September

“It felt amazing to go to the concert,” Mendez said, “I was smiling the entire time. The most memorable thing would probably be the fact that I got to go to my first concert of my favorite artist with my best friend.” 

While attending the concert, she said she did have her concerns about getting Covid.

“I am already fully vaccinated and I made sure to wear my mask,” Mendez said. 

Mendez also mentioned the precautions that each venue had to take in order to hold the concert. 

“Harry Styles said that we had to wear a mask, and he highly recommended that we be fully vaccinated. If we didn’t have the vaccine, we had to make sure that we tested negative for Covid in order to attend the concert, and we had to stay safe and maintain social distance before the show.” 

These precautions ensured the safety of the individuals who attended. 

In addition to that, Mendez mentioned the fun requirement that her idol would implement for future events. 

“For future Harry Styles concerts, he is giving discounts on his merch if you have your Covid vaccine card with you,” she said. 

Regarding concerts reopening again, Mendez said she was relieved. 

“I think the world is slowly going back to normal,” she said. “So I think it makes sense that concerts are reopening. Although some artists aren’t traveling all around the world, and are only going to specific countries.”

In September, sophomore Alexis Torres attended a Los Bukis concert to see one of his favorite bands live.

 “It felt really exciting and emotional to be there,” he said. 

Torres said that Los Bukis have been together since the 70s, and this was their first-ever tour since the 90s, which made this concert even more special to him.
“Every person who went to the concert had to show proof of vaccination, and have a negative Covid test within 48 hours,” he said. 

Despite that, Torres feared people were lying about their vaccination, or about their COVID-19 tests, just to get into the concert. 

“Another main thing I was scared of was whenever people coughed without their masks on,” he said.  

Torres said concerts “help people during their hard times.” 

But as concerts were getting shut down for quarantine, Torres said, “It was a mix of relief and being upset.” He said he was sad he couldn’t go, and he realized that he had to wait a long time to be able to go again. 

“But at the same time, I thought it was good that the concert was cancelled so that it could help the pandemic,” he said. 

 

In October, sophomore Jaecey Renfro got to see Lil Baby live. While seeing him perform live, she found the most memorable part to be the fact that she got the opportunity to see her favorite artist right in front of her. 

“I love their music, and this was the first time I’ve ever seen them live,” she said. 

Although Renfro said she was having the time of her life, she did in fact have her fears of getting sick with Covid, or any other illness. She felt that the big crowds put her at risk, despite being fully vaccinated. 

“I was scared of getting Covid since there were so many people there,” she said. 

Renfro’s thoughts on concerts reopening have been up and down.

 “A lot of people attend them, so you DO have a higher chance of getting Covid,” Renfro said. “But I guess it is a good thing that they’re coming back because that means the world is slowly becoming normal again.” 

English teacher David Shattuck had attended a Michael Bublé concert this Fall. While attending this concert, Shattuck said he felt that it was great to be there. 

“It was good to see live music again,” he said. “It’s one of my favorite things to do, so it was just great to be there.” 

Shattuck said he didn’t fear anything while going to the concert. He himself is fully vaccinated and wore a mask, so he wasn’t really scared of getting sick. 

At the Michael Bublé concert, they took many safety precautions. 

“They required masks and some vaccination cards,” Shattuck said. “They even had handwashing stations. I’m okay with that stuff. I just took it as it is. I wasn’t upset about it. I knew that it was just the way it was, and that it was necessary during the time.” 

Shattuck said he was not upset over past concerts getting cancelled, as he knew it was for the best. With the COVID-19 cases, Shattuck said he felt that it was right for the concerts to get cancelled for the sake of everyone’s safety.

“I’ve been to a lot of concerts, and compared to now, my view on concerts hasn’t really changed,” Shattuck said.

Relieved and excited that concerts are reopened again, Shattuck happily attended and enjoyed his time at the Michael Bublé concert.

The year of 2020 and 2021 has been difficult for artists and fans to enjoy their music together, but with the help of masks, social distancing and hand washing, everyone can enjoy their concerts safely and soundly.