What a fun way to spend a summer – listening to music and having a blast with friends. Many students attended several concerts including artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Zach Bryan, Noah Kahan, and many more.
Freshman Brynlee Sieber had a very noisy summer, as she attended several concerts. A favorite and popular artist this summer was Zach Bryan, which she attended.
“I have been to over 50 concerts, this was not my first,” Sieber said.
Sieber was ready around five to six hours before the concert started and she arrived around an hour early. She had high expectations for this concert as she had been listening to Zach Bryan for two years and was looking forward to this moment. “Seeing him with his new album out was insane,” Sieber said. She saw Zach Bryan not only once, but twice. “All of his albums are a 9/10, but the actual concert was a 9.75/10.” Sieber said. One of her favorite songs played was “Pink Skies.” The first time she went he did not play this, which was disappointing, but the second time he did, which she described as a “heartwarming” moment. Her seat was decent at the concert. Sieber described this view as, “Just right in the middle. Perfect view of the artist and screen!”  Senior Kennedy Seidl spilled her guts this summer at the Olivia Rodrigo concert. She had been to the Hurricane Musical Festival in Scheeßel, Germany, but this was her first in the U.S. There were many songs played at the concert, but Seidl had a couple of favorites. “My favorite song would either be “Bad Idea Right” or “Good 4 U,” Seidl said.
Seidl said this concert was super fun and entertaining, one of her favorite parts was spending time with her best friend, Regan Hirsh. “We both got to experience an amazing concert together.,” Seidl said. Not knowing how hard it would be to get the tickets, she was so excited when she finally purchased them. She was very prepared, and she got ready around three hours before Rodrigo took the stage. She arrived an hour and a half early. Although she had not been listening to Olivia Rodrigo long, as of September 2023, she knew the words to every song and had a blast. This concert took place on July 26 at the TMobile Center in Kansas City. The wait time to get in and out of the center was not long and her outfit for the concert was very stylish and purple. “I liked what I wore to the concert, it was very comfortable,” Seidl said. Seidl enjoys Rodrigo’s SOUR album better than her GUTS album, but she played all of the songs from both, which she was very excited about. She had high expectations for the concert and rated it an 8.5/10. “My expectations were met, and exceeded,” Seidl said. Ani Koontz is a senior who poured her heart out at the Noah Kahan, “We’ll All Be Here Forever” tour. She has been to many concerts but this was her favorite.
“I have been to 16 concerts but this has been my favorite,” Koontz said. Koontz got ready in the morning as she had to drive all the way to Dallas the day of the concert. Koontz arrived 30 minutes before the doors opened. She was super comfortable with what she wore and where she was sitting. Koontz said, “I always go for the cheapest seats, but the venue had a lawn … I preferred being on the lawn because it was spacious and the sunset was beautiful,” Koontz said. Koontz had been listening to Kahan since 2022 when his album, Stick Season, came out.
“My favorite part was when he played his new song, “Pain Is Cold Water”, and my favorite song was, “Maine,” Koontz said.  Koontz rated this concert a 15/10 and believes that everyone should get to experience a Kahan concert. “All of his songs have such strong meanings. To be surrounded by people who have been affected by the same songs, can relate to the same lyrics, and love the same type of music is a beautiful thing, Koontz said.”