It's something we all want to experience. The flashing lights, screaming crowds, and the adrenaline that goes through your body when your favorite singer/bands come on stage.
Finding a fun concert with an artist or group you love is easy; convincing your parents to let you go is the difficult part. As I've experienced, there really is only one obstacle in your way that's stopping you: your parents. For me, this was especially tough, because a) most of the concerts were on a school night, and b) the tickets were more expensive than usual, due to the fact that they were Korean bands.
Part one of this survival is getting through the parents! Here are some tricks that worked for me, and hopefully work for you too!
Part One: Asking Your Parents
1. Do Your Research
If you know a group is coming months prior to the concert, take this to advantage. Ask your parents, "Hey, if I do well on ____, can I go to a concert?" If they say yes, then mission accomplished :). If not, it won't hurt, but it's good to have a big accomplishment (such as all A's, a prize at a competition, etc.), as there is a good reason to go to a rewarding concert.
When it comes time to tell your parents about the concert, it's best for you to know the time, date, place, price of the tickets, and any other information about the concert that they should be aware of. If the tickets are expensive to the point it'll make your parents gasp, decide if you'll pay for them or not.
Offering to pay for them shows how much you want to go to the concert, and it shows a sense of responsibility and money management to your parents. Do extra chores around the house, earn money through accomplishments, or loan if you have to.
If your parents aren't aware of the artist performing, then tell them who they are, what kind of music they perform, and whether or not it'll involve violence (mosh pits happen at certain concerts). It's better to overstudy than understudy because when the time comes to talk to your parents, they'll know you're educated about the subject when you can answer most of their questions!
2. Prepare some sort of presentation
It's not the best idea to confront your parents without something to follow, because it'll make your argument seem messy and to your parents, uneducated. Be prepared to answer questions, and it's best to know what your parents worry about, because they'll most likely ask questions based off of those. Here are a few to consider being ready to answer:
- Who will give you a ride?
- The concert's on a school night! How will you prepare for school right after the concert and do your homework?
- Why do you want to go so badly?
- How far away is the venue from our house?
Preparing a presentation is a key part of the convincing, because you'll come off as serious about attending that concert, and it also shows you have the responsibility to research this ahead of time. When saying your presentation to your parents, ask them to not ask any questions during it, because it allows you to smoothly get your point across and it won't sound as choppy with them asking questions.
In my case, my friends and I made a presentation on why we wanted to go see BTS so badly. We addressed those questions, said some extra info about BTS and how we would get there, but on our last slides, we answered why they meant so much to us. Here is part of our slideshow that influenced our parents to let us go:
3. The Actual Presentation:
Look for the perfect time. It's best to ask them when they're relaxed, happy, and not busy doing something. It's weird, but the difference in their moods could determine whether or not you're going to the concert, so be on their happy side.
The weeks leading up to it try to take initiative in the house, like offering to help your parents clean, take out the trash, things like that. Be yourself though, and try to act normal if acting like that isn't how you usually act.
Speak through it as you practiced, and once you're done, allow your parents to ask you any questions they have. Calmly answer them, because the more you get riled up, the more immature you come off as and your parents may not allow you to go because of that. Answer all their questions, and most importantly, show why you care so much about going to that concert.
If your parents still say no after all of that, then you have two choices. Keep on going or just admit defeat. If you decide to keep going, know when enough is enough.
Ask your parents why you can't go, and they'll list out reasons. Here are some possible counterarguments to say just in case it comes down to this.
"The concert is on a school night! You won't get enough sleep or have enough time to do homework"
(If the concert is far away, say that you'll sleep on the way home from the concert, go back to bed, and possibly wake up earlier than usual to do your homework. Keep in mind, you can always do it if you have time before the concert, or on the car ride to the concert)
"You've been to too many concerts."
Each concert gives off a different vibe, attracts a different crowd, and all and all a different experience. That's why going to concerts is so much fun, because the experiences are never the same. I know that i've been to a lot of concerts already, but I want to experience this one as well.
"It's too far away"
(If your parents are driving you, then find some places around the venue that they could go to, such as malls, a park, or a restaurant to eat at. At night, find somewhere they can possibly park or sleep until the concert ends, so they'll be rested up too. Explain how that's the closest location to your city, and that it'll be worth the drive.)
These tips and tricks worked for me, so I hope they work for you! If they don't, then know that this approach will show how dedicated you are to concerts and experiences, so the next time a concert rolls around and you think it's convenient to go, ask your parents, and they just might say yes!
Part Two: Surviving The Concert
1. Be on top of your schoolwork beforehand, and know what has to be done before the concert
It's not worth it for your parents to see that the concert is affecting your personal and school life, so make sure you know what your homework is the day of and finish it before the next day.
2. Buy a reasonable ticket
If you're planning to pay for it by yourself, make sure you saved up an adequate amount of money to purchase a ticket. Try not to get scammed and buy it off of reliable ticket sites. Here are some of the most reliable that I've purchased from and they've always worked:
1. https://www.ticketmaster.com/
3. https://www.ticketzoom.com/
3. Dress nicely but comfortably!
You'll be in a venue that is most likely crowded with lots of other people, and concert venues tend to be more hot than cold, so be ready for that. If you're in a GA pit, then it's important to take into account that people will be invading your personal bubble, so wearing comfortable clothing is a must, like a t-shirt and jeans.
4. Figure out when to leave
Search up where the venue is, and how far away it is from your home, but ALWAYS allow extra time. Say the venue is two hours away and the concert starts at 7:30, be sure to leave at 4:30 at the LATEST. The lines to get into the concerts are usually long, (extremely long if it's an overseas band), and once you get in, you might have to use the restroom, buy some food to eat, or make yourself comfortable at your seat.
5. ENJOY THE CONCERT!!!
You may want to film the entire thing, but learn a lesson from me, and be INTO the concert, not the fact that you have to have good quality videos to post on Instagram later. Yell out as much as you want to, dance, it doesn't matter, but you paid good money to be there, so make it worth it!
For me, I never really cared about concerts until I actually got into a genre of music I truly enjoyed, which was K-Pop, or Korean pop. The fact that they were able to sing AND dance simultaneously and phenomenally, I was immediately hooked.
When I learned that a group called Wanna One was coming to Chicago, a town two hours away from me, I took advantage of that and asked my parents. It being my first concert, they allowed me, and since then I've been able to see four more amazing K-Pop groups in Chicago, including BTS, and each and every one of them took an insane amount of convincing to go. I was able to make a deal with my parents for each concert: Do well at my state competitions, practice hard in my sport, and get good grades. I hope this article helped you, and thanks for reading!
