Music fanatic Ellie Van Rozeboom (‘25) goes online to buy a concert ticket. As soon as she opens the website, the prices pop up on the screen: $100, $500, $1000, and more. Nowadays, concerts are expensive, especially for high school students who don’t have the financial means to pay a hundred dollars for live music. So, what’s the solution?
Lucy Anselm (‘25) sees small, local concerts as a perfect alternative.
“I like live music because I like the community of it,” Anselm said. “I like being able to yell the lyrics or just enjoy music with a large group of people, especially if it’s a band [I] do like, being able to enjoy a common interest with a bunch of people.”
Nate McDonald (‘25) has similar opinions about the ambiance of local live music.
“It’s the feeling of [live music], honestly,” McDonald said. “The energy is really nice and it’s a very fun, communal thing to do.”
Van Rozeboom goes to local shows often to “connect with other people and discover new music,” but another advantage is the price.
“Especially for college students and high school students, it’s way cheaper and you get to meet people that are into the same music as you and [have] the same interests,” Van Rozeboom said. “I think [the availability of small local concerts] has to do a lot with cost though because concerts nowadays are hundreds of dollars per concert, and I still want to enjoy live music. [Local concerts are] the cheapest option and they’re still really fun.”
Bigger concerts are not only expensive, but they have other downsides as well.
“The problem with going to really big concerts is [they take] a lot of planning, [they take] a lot of time out of your week, and a lot of the time [they cost] a lot of money,” Anselm said. “Going to local concerts can be a cheap, fun night with your friends and can be such a bonding experience.”
McDonald agrees with Anselm on the convenience of smaller local concerts.
“[Local concerts are] convenient,” McDonald said. “It’s way easier to go somewhere that is less than an hour away.”
Living in the same area as favorite bands and artists is another reason why people like local music.
“Knowing that [the band members live] in your area and have a similar life to you is really cool,” McDonald said.
Many people are introduced to now favorite bands through local concert competitions, house shows, concert openers, etc.
“I love the Honeyboys, I’ve seen them a few times,” Anselm said. “They opened for DJO, and I feel like openers are a really great way to get introduced to smaller bands. [The Honeyboys] are really local, and they play really good music.
Events in San Luis Obispo allow bands to gain more recognition in the local music scene.
“Plywood Love is really good, I saw them at the Battle of the Bands [for Shabang], and the Krooks are really good—they play local,” Anselm said.
Local concerts can also be a great way to support friends or just other people in the SLO community.
“[I like the bands] Couch Dog and Joone because my friends play in [Joone] and Couch Dog has been a consistent band throughout for years,” Van Rozeboom said.
According to McDonald, some of the best local concert venues are the Fremont Theater in Downtown San Luis Obispo, SLO Brew Rock, and Hello Village in the Arroyo Grande Village.
Music venues and local bands are constantly posting updates online with show dates and locations for anyone to enjoy live music. Not only are they a great way to interact with the community, but local concerts are inexpensive and (of course) close by!
