(Image via abcnews.go) 

Staff Writer: Aidan Danforth 

Email: adanforth@umassd.edu 

A boy buys tickets to see his favorite artist and asks his friend to go with him to the show. They go to the show and walk out looking at one another, thinking about the incredible time they had. The roaring beats and the chanting crowds create a shared experience they’ll never forget. 

Live music has been mainstream worldwide for thousands of years since music was recorded on Sumerian clay tablets. In today’s world, many platforms are available to stream artists, but they tend to lack something. 

“Live music is more of a two-way street. The musician is reacting to the audience, and the audience is reacting to the musician,” said Ronald Sherwin, chairperson of the UMassD music department. 

Live music adds a relationship aspect that recorded music cannot. 

“When you see live music in person, you can see where the artist’s mind is at when they created the music and the lyrics,” said Bianca O’DeBarcelos, an employee at the New and Student Family Programs on campus. Seeing an artist sing live enhances the song, which deepens the meaning behind said song. 

In recorded music, people just scroll their music app until they find a song, play it, and listen. But where’s the excitement? Live music offers a better process that adds to the overall experience that scrolling through an app cannot. 

Before the show, someone arrives and takes everything in. Then, they go to their seat and have that “excited, anxious feeling,” exclaims O DeBarcelos as they wait to see the artist on stage. 

That feeling of excitement and anxiety coincides with the impact of a live performance. A big part of what makes a live performance so incredible is that sense of the unknown—the pure anticipation of seeing the show. People have no idea what will happen, resulting in a combination of emotions running through their heads. 

While everything is taken in, they begin to look around. There’s the notice of the setup of the stage, along with the thousands of others dressed in a variety of carefully tailored outfits. Sometimes, people talk and make friends at a show, while others sit back and simply take everything in. 

Then it happens. 

The background music stops as the event everyone anticipated begins. The crowd’s excited anxiety goes away when they begin to cheer loudly upon hearing that first note. 

What follows is almost too good to be true. As each song is played, people dance and cheer upon hearing each note. Depending on the genre, things may differ. “If it’s party-like, people are dancing and feeling happy. If it’s emotional, people are more nostalgic,” mentions O DeBarcelos. 

Each type of music conveys a variety of reactions from an audience. However, what remains the same is the artist bringing these strangers together. There’s no conflict; instead, people remain together, sharing this experience. 

The artist playing also conveys a distinct experience from recording the song for the radio. The crowd, with its thousands of encoring fans, adds something to their performance. Often, the artist will directly speak to the audience and add a sense of engagement between each track. 

That is something that a streaming service can never match. 

The communication between an artist and their audience is special, as the music being played is enhanced by an artist complimenting outfits or the town being played. 

Another unreal experience is being in the pit. The pit is right next to the stage, and the combination of cheering fans and the artist being right there feels surreal. The sense of being right there, seeing the artist up close, along with the sounds and background of the show, makes recorded music feel like nothing. 

Like all amazing events, they come to an end. The aftermath stage of live music is that last cheer as the crew dismantles the stage. Then, people begin to rush out of the area. 

As someone brushes through the crowds, they begin to feel mixed emotions—almost like “post-concert depression because of the hype and excitement that is now gone,” said O’DeBarcelos. When someone wakes up, they remember the event’s fun but are sad it’s all over.

“People will still see live music because it’s an experience, ” said Sherwin. Regardless of future advances, “Music at its core is a social art.”