The Weeknd begins his next song, and Sr. Ana Nizolek can feel herself being illuminated by the bright red lights radiating off the stage. Surrounded by thousands of other individuals beaming with joy, Nizolek can’t think of any moment better than this.
From the joy someone feels gathering with friends listening to their favorite artist, to the thrill of finally attending their dream concert, the concert experience is unmatched. However, any music fan or concert enthusiast can also agree on an aspect of these events that can’t be ignored: the price of the tickets.
When looking to purchase concert tickets, there has to be a limit to how much someone would spend, yet the statistics will say otherwise. According to the New York Post, individuals were willing to purchase tickets for over $600 to see Taylor Swift in New Orleans on October 25, 2024. Some people can agree on a ticket spending limit, and then some would pay any price for the experience of a lifetime.
“I’ve been to eight concerts, and I have two upcoming concerts. My most recent concert was Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft tour, and they also happened to be the most expensive tickets I’ve bought for a concert. I ended up getting them resale, and the total was around $1,700 for two lower bowl tickets. It was honestly one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to and definitely worth the money. I think in the future I probably wouldn’t spend that much again, we only did because it was a resale price,” Sr. Nikki Markovic said.
The price Markovic would pay for concert tickets reflects the value she places on these experiences. Markovic is attuned to the concert experience and agrees that attending a concert of a favorite artist will always be worth the price she has to pay for the tickets, but there is a line she draws for what that price will be. Other individuals at West Ottawa also share a similar passion for music and the thrill of concerts.
“Music has always been an important part of my life. Some of the artists I have seen include Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll, Nickelback, Koe Wetzle, Bassnectar, Flosstradamus, Louis the Child, Kip Moore, Jason Aldean, The Cheese String Incident, Alison Wonderland, Jawz, Jordan Davis, Excision, Hardy, Josh Ross, Maren Morris, Zac Brown Band, Dan and Shay, Chris Lane, MGMT, Tim McGraw and many more! Long story short, I have spent way too much money on concerts, but who cares, the memories are forever,” Instructor Alyssa Shoemaker said.
Concerts are an important part of Shoemaker’s life and have left an accumulation of her spending in the hundreds, but this won’t stop her from continuing to acquire lasting memories from her favorite artists. Nevertheless, Shoemaker agrees that she does have a limit to how much she would spend on a single ticket to a dream concert.
“The most I have ever spent on an individual concert was $150 to Jelly Roll and Koe Wetzle, but the most I would spend on my dream concert would probably be $200,” Shoemaker said.
Although Shoemaker doesn’t limit her purchase of concert tickets, she admits that a dream concert comes with a price limit. Many others at West Ottawa can also agree with this approach.
“I’ve purchased many concert tickets to see my favorite artists perform, which have all been for various different ticket prices. Most recently, I purchased a ticket to see my favorite artist, The Weeknd, for $460. My limit for how much I would purchase to see The Weeknd was $600, but for my dream concert, I would definitely spend up to $1000 on a ticket,” Sr. Ana Nizolek said.
Nizolek agrees that there is a limit to how much she would spend on a concert ticket; however, the amount she is willing to pay demonstrates the importance of concerts to her. Although $1000 may seem like a ridiculous amount of money to spend on one ticket for a single show, the price of the ticket is negligible compared to the once-in-a-lifetime experience of seeing a favorite artist live and staying in tune with her passion.
“Music has always been part of my life, while I attend fewer concerts now than I have previously, I did recently see Shinedown and Seether with one daughter, and attended an EDM rave (featuring Tiesto) in Chicago with my other one, however. Depending on the setting and experience, I may pay up to around $500, but probably not more,” Instructor Brian Taylor said.
Taylor is a seasoned concertgoer and has been purchasing tickets to see popular artists for many years. In 1992, Taylor purchased a ticket to the first-ever Lollapalooza for only $30 and bought a ticket to see KISS in 1988 for $17.50. Since then, tickets to popular artists and concerts have skyrocketed, but this hasn’t stopped Taylor from continuing to prioritize music as an important aspect of his life. Yet, a dream concert ticket would come with a price limit for Taylor. The concert experience of a favorite artist may be tempting, but any price over $500 would be where Taylor draws the line.
While others can agree that a dream concert comes with a spending limit, some demonstrate that the price of the ticket doesn’t matter when assessing the impact concerts have on their lives.
“Honestly, there might not be a limit to what I would spend to see my dream artist. Concerts and music are some of my favorite things in the world, and I think it’s worth it. You can always make more money, but you can’t make more time. So I would take any chance to see my dream artists,” Sr. Cailey Mooney said.
Concerts are incredible experiences that leave Mooney with lasting memories that could never be assigned a price too great to turn down. Although money is valuable, and a ticket to a favorite concert could come at a big cost, time is the most valuable of all, and Mooney agrees that she prioritizes this aspect of her life. The time she could spend watching her favorite artist in concert is worth any amount of money for Mooney.
Oftentimes, dreams will come with a dollar sign, and it is up to the consumer to decide if there could ever be a price too large to stop them from realizing their dreams.
