Loud music, ringing ears, and the feel of thousands of cheering fans clustered together. Concerts provide time to get away from everything and see, in person, the bands passing through the area.

“Going to the concert was the best part of my summer,” junior Emma Burkett said, about the July 28 Kenny Chesney concert.

But, sometimes, things made the experience harder to enjoy.

The marching band summer practices started July 25, two weeks before school began. Thus Burkett could not attend the July 28 Kenny Chesney concert in St. Louis. Instead, Burkett drove to Kansas City to see Chesney perform at Arrowhead Stadium, July 30.

“[The concert] started at 4:30 p.m. and went until 11:30 p.m. It was definitely worth the [travel] time,” Burkett said.

For other students, the issue was heat.

At Warped Tour, senior Sara Shabany had a hard time keeping hydrated and staying cool.

“I got dehydrated easily. I also got extremely sun burnt,” said Shabany.

According to the National Weather Service, the heat index was 106 degrees the day of Warped Tour.  The heat felt worse because of the blacktop and the thousands of bodies crowded together in one location.

“Water was way too expensive at the concert, so instead of buying water, I found a way to bring some in so I could keep hydrated throughout the concert,” Shabany said.

Sometimes crowds can diminish the experience, but other times, the large number of people can make the experience more memorable.

July 17, 53,000 people watched U2 perform at Busch Stadium, according to St. Louis Business Journal. The energy of the crowd, and the people within it, made the experience better for senior Lauren Brase.

“[The big concert] made it better because I met fans from all over, being so closely packed together,” Brase said. 

For others, cases of rowdy fans and drug use may ruin the experience of seeing a band. Junior Adam Wiegand attended the Sublime with Rome and 311 concert, July 9.

“People around me were smoking a lot of weed and all I could smell was the stench of it. After only 30 minutes of smelling it, it was hard to enjoy the concert because of the headache it gave me,” Wiegand said.

Written by: Sam Fleschner and TJ Bartosch