The comeback of concerts

As concerts return to the Tampa Bay area, students go to see their favorite artists live.

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Denmark, Copenhagen – March 19, 2018. The English pop singer Harry Styles performs a live concert at Royal Arena in Copenhagen.

Alexa Grubbs

From Pitbull to Harry Styles to For King and Country and The Rolling Stones, there is live music for all coming to the Tampa Bay area within the next couple of months. After COVID-19 led to massive shut-downs around the world, most artists chose, for the well-being of their fans, to cancel their tours until further notice. Since then, with the distribution of vaccines and updated preventative measures, artists like Harry Styles rescheduled tours for 2021.

Cosette Ganci (‘22) has been a fan of Styles since the 6 grade and saw him on his debut concert tour in 2018, and Ganci bought tickets to go to his upcoming “Love On Tour” for his second album “Fineline”. His tour was originally set to happen in 2020, but got pushed back due to quarantine.

“I was disappointed at first, but I understood because I didn’t want to be going to a concert in the middle of a pandemic. COVID-wise I expect things to be different, but I also expect the same vibes because of his specific persona and the music will still be him,” Ganci said.

On Aug. 25, on his official twitter, Harry Styles announced everyone attending one of his shows must provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours prior to entry, as well as wear a mask for the duration of the concert.

Other artists like rapper Lil Baby have recently announced tours for this year as well. Students like Drayk Simmons (‘23) already purchased tickets to watch him perform music from his latest album, “My Turn”.

“I like the beats he uses because they get me super hyped up before football games. [I am looking forward] to having a good time with my friends,” Simmons said.

Others have already been to a concert since the pandemic of 2020, including Rhyse Sampang (‘22), who saw Alanis Morissette for her 25th anniversary of her album “Jagged Little Pill”. She surprised her dad with the tickets to the concert and went with her cousins visiting from Alaska.

“It was fun but also kind of scary that I would be exposed to COVID. I hadn’t been to a concert in a long time, so going to the concert with my dad and my family was a great experience,” Sampang said.

A plethora of artists are coming to the Tampa Bay area, from a wide variety of genres, providing entertainment for all. If you are interested in attending any concerts in the Tampa Bay era, click the link below. https://www.ticketmaster.com/discover/concerts/tampa