The Importance of Live Music
As an avid music listener, I’m always hungry for new music to add to my repertoire. However, when I deliberately set out to search for new music on the internet, I often end up being disappointed with what I find. There’s so much music out there that it’s hard for me to find the diamonds in the rough, especially since I’m very picky when to comes to any music that has come out since 1980. In my experience, the best way to discover new music is not to sit on your computer aimlessly searching for new sounds or wait every week to see what Spotify Discover Weekly has to offer (although that is probably the next best thing to what I’m about to suggest).
If you really want to find new music in a way that is both effective and fun, go out to live shows.
Seriously.
There are tons of great live shows that happen every night, and LA is a major hub for them — I’ve found some of my favorite current bands out there right now from going to random venues here in LA. So if you find yourself with nothing to do on a Friday night, remember that there’s always a plethora of live shows just waiting for you. They’re inexpensive, fun, and a great way to meet new people and be exposed to new music that you might not hear about otherwise in an intimate setting. Going to live shows also helps support local artists and promotes the production and spread of new music, so it’s really a win-win for everyone involved. Not to mention the fact that at smaller venues you can almost always talk to the band after the show, which is always great.
So obviously the local music scene is pretty great, but some people want a bit more of an “experience” when going out to see live music…
This is where music festivals shine.
Music festivals combine live music with delicious food, lots of people, and a palpable feeling of excitement and togetherness that’s difficult to find anywhere else, at least in my experience. They are a great opportunity to see the bands you like, as well as tons of other bands that you might have heard of but wouldn’t necessarily go out of your way to see otherwise, not to mention plenty of bands that you haven’t heard of at all. I’ve been to five music festivals, and have discovered so many new artists as a result while also getting to enjoy the artists I already know and love. Some people complain about festivals like Coachella becoming too commercial, but there are so many other great, down-to-earth festivals out there that are all about the music. If you haven’t been to a music festival before, I strongly recommend going to one some time. They’re a fantastic way to experience lots of great music, great food, and great times all around.
No matter who you are or how picky you might be about what kind of music you like to listen to, there will always be plenty of live music out there for you to enjoy in any kind of setting. Seeing an artist or group play their music live in a club gives you an opportunity to connect with them on a personal level that’s simply not possible to get from listening to recordings. So please, do yourself a favor and go out and see some live music. You won’t regret it.
