Valeria Gutierrez

There are many local concerts and music festivals that students with different music tastes can enjoy without venturing too far out from Howard County. For instance, Indie pop artists like Mitski and Alex Warren to rock bands like Muse and The Strokes at Merriweather Post Pavillion.

   The All Things Go Music Festival, for one, is an annual music festival founded in 2014, hosted at Merriweather Post Pavillion. This year it runs from September 25th to the 27th, with headliners like Hayley Williams, Zara Larsson and Ethel Cain, among other well known artists and some more underground ones, such as Googly Eyes or Jake Minch. 

   “[I’m most excited to see] Zara Larsson and Hayley Williams,” shared sophomore Kate Rim.

   Also at Merriweather Post Pavillion, one can find the All Good Now Festival, a reimagining of the All Good Music Festival that began in 1997, headlining Widespread Panic and Les Claypool’s Claypool Gold this June 13th and 14th. Other artists that will be at this venue during the foreseeable future include The Strokes, Zach Top, Muse, Bleachers, Thomas Rett and The Red Clay Strays.

   Some out of state but still nearby music events include a My Chemical Romance concert in D.C. this August at Nationals Park, 31 miles away from MRHS, as well a Foo Fighters one at the same venue. An Uber ride to that location would cost no more than $30 per person. Other events include Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden and Pitbull concerts at Hersheypark Stadium in Pennsylvania, 68 miles away.

   While there are many opportunities to enjoy different concerts of all different genres relatively near Howard County, there’s also been multiple high-profile artists like Zayn Malik or Post Malone cancelling their concerts or downgrading to smaller venues on some of their performances. An example of this is Linkin Park relocating from Dodger Stadium to the smaller Intuit Dome. Increased ticket prices, with the average ticket at about $144, for seats that many say sometimes aren’t even worth it has led to what some call a blue dot fever – seas of blue dots representing unpurchased seats. People often blame Ticketmaster, the main ticket seller, and its dynamic prices, as well as resellers, who purchase somewhat cheap tickets and resell them at tens of what they’re worth. This dynamic often results in diehard fans unable to see their favorite artists because of corporate greed. 

   “I feel like [ticket prices] are really overpriced. I also know that Ticketmaster has fees and stuff, so that’s probably why,” Rim said. 

   Even if it may be hard to afford, for many people being in a crowd of those who enjoy the same kind of music is one of the most enjoyable things ever. Concerts are amazing places to spend time with your friends, or for those who prefer to go solo, meet people with similar interests and obtain lifelong connections.