Hey Hope!
I don’t know about you, but one of the things I miss the most about pre-COVID times has to be going to concerts and live shows. To me, there is nothing like getting those concert-day jitters. Months and months of waiting for the day to finally arrive, and then BOOM. Before you know it, you are in a huge arena with thousands of people who love something just as passionately as you do, and you get to share an unforgettable experience together. Singing, dancing, crying, laughing, it’s almost as if time stops for a few blissful hours. Every live performance I’ve ever been to, big or small, has a way of changing the atmosphere into something that feels so utterly beautiful, safe, and human.
I miss live performances, HP. I really do.
BUT! I can now say that I, Madison Kizer, have officially attended a concert during the time of COVID in 2020. Well… technically.
My friends and I attended a *virtual* Niall Horan benefit concert that was live streamed from the Royal Albert Hall in London! And you know what HP? It was kind of awesome.
I know the picture quality is kind of horrible, but for some reason, that makes me love these pics even more. We had the lights turned off for ambiance (concert mood lighting of course).
I’ll tell you how we ended up in this bizarre situation. A few weeks ago I got an email from Spotify telling me Niall Horan concert tickets went on sale soon, and that I would get priority pick because (apparently) I am one of his many top listeners. This surprised me because I’ve only recently started listening to Niall’s music, but I must say I definitely recommend it! It almost gives me a country-pop vibe, which is something I can’t believe I like so much, but it’s kind of magical and I love it.
The more research I did about this concert, the more I fell in love with this idea. I found out Niall Horan was putting on a concert to raise money for his crew that had lost their jobs this year with the lack of touring. Stage managers, sound board workers, lights, camera crews, all have been left jobless due to the pandemic. Because of this, Niall wanted to donate the proceeds of the concert to all his crew that would’ve toured with him this year, giving them a paycheck to help them in these very difficult times. Tickets were only $16, and knowing it was going to people who needed the money (and considering how much I would’ve paid to see it live), it was a no brainer for me. Livestream 3 at 7 PM CST, we’re coming for ya!
So, some of my best friends and I made the most of the night. We went through a Wendy’s drive thru to get some fast food, iced coffee, and ice cream, and watched the concert in our dorm room. Honestly, it was a lot of fun. We didn’t always know the song lyrics, but we definitely added a few new songs to our personal playlists throughout the night.
I was so happy I got to experience a concert with these special ladies, even if we were only a quick 4,148 miles away from the concert venue. It made me realize that when *hopefully* COVID is long gone, we can experience something as joyous and celebratory as this in person again. Being in college right now is a bit tough, especially since the four of us last year were able to do so many more things. We went to our college theatre performances, late night Halloween Rocky Horror Picture Show movie nights, traveling Broadway performances, spur-of-the-moment live music shows, and we had made so many plans for what we wanted to do. Last year, we made a physical list of the many college experiences we wanted to share together. As you can guess, that list right now is mostly on pause due to the current state of the world with a global pandemic and all. But, instead of dwelling on all the things we can’t physically do, all we can do is live for right now. And right now, I went to a concert with some of my best friends, and I most certainly had a great time. I love these ladies, and I’m so lucky that I have gotten to know them this past year. We’ve gone through a lot together, and I can’t wait to have more experiences with them when the world is a little less crazy and a lot safer again.
Talk to ya soon, HP :)
-mk
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