2023 in Concerts

2023 is the year that I realized music is one of my greatest passions and I should do everything I can to foster that. From teaching myself how to play piano, to going to as many concerts as possible. Concerts make up some of my favorite memories and they are one of the few things that I don’t feel guilty spending money on. How could you regret spending money on an event where you get to dance and scream-sing around thousands of other people who are also dancing and scream-singing. It unlocks a new level of happiness for me. Here are concert moments that defined my 2023.

Little Big Town

This was the strangest concert I went to all year. I have never been to a country concert before (other than one at UF) so I expected that they all take place in a big open field with trucks parked around and cowboy-booted people sitting on picnic blankets drinking beer. I should have known that that wasn’t going to be the case for a concert hosted in downtown Savannah, GA. The venue actually reminded me more of a high school auditorium. The opening act literally said she performed here for all-state choir competitions when she was in high school. The audience was all old people aside from me and my 10 friends. I was prepared to line dance the night away but it turned out that the rest of the audience was happy to sit through the entire concert aside from standing for Girl Crush, Better Man, Pontoon, Boondocks, and Little White Church (I know, I didn’t think I knew that many LBT songs either). This was the first and only concert that some of my friends have been to so I plan to change that for them in 2024. 

Taylor Swift

Need I say more? This was one of the best concerts of my entire life and I would see it five more times if I could. Seeing Taylor live just made me love her even more. The choreography, costumes, and sets couldn’t have been more magical. I didn’t expect to cry but I did through the first five songs at the thought of what a hold Taylor had on 8-year-old me. It felt like I was a part of something big just being there. I think so many women relate to Taylor for a few reasons. She’s quirky and an awkward dancer but she doesn’t try to hide it at all. She also is one of the few young female artists who hasn’t tried to make herself a sex figure for men to admire. She is feminine and beautiful, but she is for the girls. I would like to thank my friend Reagan for bringing me and for driving us five hours each way. This concert and Taylor Swift as a figure of female empowerment is something I can’t wait to tell my kids about one day. 

Hippo Campus

This was the kind of concert that I bought tickets for and then listened to the setlist on repeat for the two days leading up to the concert to learn the lyrics. I loved it so much though. Hippo Campus has so many fantastic songs that I probably wouldn’t know without “concert cramming.” Fabulous venue and fabulous friends.

Juice 

My favorite band. It was our first weekend after getting back to college and I convinced my best friends to drive two hours to Orlando to see a band whose songs they did not know a single one of (I have the best friends). It wasn’t until we got into the venue and saw a different band's merch table that we realized Juice was just the opener. They played six songs, not including my favorite song before Ocean Alley took the stage. Even though they weren’t up there for long, I loved every second of it. I was the only person in the audience and I swear I made eye contact with the lead singer at least twice. One of the coolest things about Juice is that one of the band members plays the violin but also raps. 

I guess I didn’t realize how small of a band Juice was but I was starstruck when they said after the show that they were just going to be hanging out at the merch table to meet fans. I ran from Ocean Alley and told them all about how I bought tickets thinking they were the headliners. The lead singer said he saw me in the audience and I melted. They were so down-to-earth and wonderful. My friends and I told them all about our big plans to have a band of our own one day and they told us how they randomly started as college students at Boston University, none of them studying music or anything close to it just like us. They were so encouraging so when we’re giving our Grammy award thank you speech one day, Juice is definitely getting a shoutout. 

Jason Derulo

Jason Derulo came to my UF for Gator Growl, our annual homecoming concert. As a member of the Gator Growl staff, I got to work backstage during this concert and watched Derulo perform from the wings. He is another artist who you might not realize how many songs of his you know until you look up what he sings. This set was full of bangers. His dancers, like many 2000’s pop stars backup dancers do, stole the show. 

Stephen Sanchez

This was so much more than a concert. My best friend, Lily, got me tickets for this December concert for my birthday back in March. I was super excited to get the tickets but it was also funny because she knows Stephen way better than I do. He is her favorite artist so she decided that we were going to camp out for the concert. I am one of the most spontaneous people I know so I was down to do it but I had some skepticism. Lily wanted to get to the venue at 7 a.m. for a 9 p.m. concert. The venue only fits 700 people and Stephen is not THAT big of an artist so I suggested 3 p.m. We negotiated to get there at 10:30 a.m. We packed a cooler, lawn chairs, cards, books, and made a poster asking to sing a song with him on stage. This venue was the strangest place ever. It was on the side of a random highway in between two auto shops in not the safest neighborhood. 

We got to meet Stephen right before the doors finally opened. We had been planning this moment and how if we met him we were going to act completely normal, like we were old friends. The interaction consisted of me asking him why he was leaving the venue, him telling us he had to go shower before the show, and Lily shouting, “Good luck with your shower.” So basically, he’s in love with us. Me, Lily, and the other ten crazy people we met in line at 10:30 a.m. stood front row and Stephen even read our poster. He danced like Elvis and all of his bandmates were INCREDIBLE performers. Throughout the set, he talked the audience through a whole love story and fit the songs into different parts of the story. By the end of the concert, I was so emotional from the lengthy anticipation and exhaustion. 

Something special about this concert was the friends we made in line. The girl I got the closest to came to the concert alone which was impressive to me. Concert people are a different breed. Everyone was so easygoing and fun yet very emotional. I automatically feel connected to them hearing them drool over artists I love that most people have never heard of. Music is my favorite way to connect with people, from my dad and brother to boys I like to random people I meet in line at concerts. I can’t wait for another year of memories made through my love of music.