On March 8, I had the pleasure of going to a Brett Young concert. Now, I am not a fan, but my dad had gotten tickets for the entire family, so I decided to go just for fun.
When we got to the venue, everyone was dressed in a country style. All I could see were flannels, cowboy hats, denim and boots for miles. It was definitely not my scene. I am not a huge fan of country music — maybe the occasional Dan + Shay or some old Taylor Swift, but that is it — so I felt out of place.
Everyone was mingling with their drinks, laughing amongst themselves, and light chatter could be heard spread evenly across the area. It was dimly lit, with the stage up front illuminated. When we got there, another artist was opening for him, and people half-watched, half-talked. Most of the crowd were adults with the occasional older teens, but there were not many kids (if any) there to see Young.
When the show started and the screen behind the stage started to play footage, a hush fell over the crowd before they began to cheer. Before I knew it, Young was there, in the flesh. My first thought was, “Wow, he’s super close to us, and the audience is pretty tame.” From previous experiences going to shows more geared toward my age group, I was used to being shoved and tousled; mosh pits were a thing, and everything was chaotic. At this show, despite the larger crowd, everyone was respectful of everyone’s space. Not once did I feel uncomfortable or need to step back. I would say that was the biggest difference that I noticed.
In terms of the content of the concert itself, I had researched him by looking up some of his songs on Spotify ahead of time. I ended up only recognizing one song (which also was his most popular), “In Case You Didn’t Know.” The crowd seemed to know most of the songs, however, and if not, they did not show it.
I think that is what I liked most — despite not being an avid listener of his music (or most country music in general), the vibes of the interactions within the crowd transferred over to me. I observed many couples dancing together, whether it was just swaying or full-on ballroom steps. I watched as the people around me bonded through music, and everywhere I looked, there were smiling faces.
Though this can probably be said for most groups with something in common, Young’s music did a good job of bringing people together, and that was the best part of attending the concert that night. It was eye-opening to see this side of country music, an experience you cannot get just from sitting at home listening to it. I think being there slightly changed my mindset about Young and country music because it wasn’t just music — it was the thing connecting the hundreds of people in that venue to each other.
