Musicians such as Drake, Rihanna, Olivia Rodrigo, Adele Coldplay, The 1975, Taylor Swift, Liam Gallagher, Eminem and more will be on tour in the U.K. this year.
Sophie Singer (’25) said since COVID-19, concerts have been growing in occurrence and popularity, leading her to attend them more frequently.
“COVID really made me appreciate being in a large group of people and all celebrating and appreciating one thing,” Singer said. “Music is one thing people connect with and it’s really special to be surrounded by people with one common interest.”
Taylor Swift’s arrival in the U.K. has caused anticipation throughout the school, according to Drama Teacher Todd Sessoms. He said Swift’s ever-rising popularity excites his students.
“I have one student in particular who has seen [Taylor Swift] three times now,” Sessoms said. “I know she’s looking forward to seeing her here in the U.K.”
Constantinos Perrotis (’27) said there is a lot of publicity for the Taylor Swift Eras tour, through both advertising and sharing on social media.
“A lot of people I know post about Taylor Swift concerts,” Perrotis said. “There is lots of hype about these concerts that I constantly hear and see.”
Singer said there is a lot of excitement in her community for the Taylor Swift UK tour after hearing about her past tours.
“Everyone has been seeing her U.S. and South America tour and so people are highly anticipating her coming to the U.K.,” Singer said.
Swift’s concert dates for the U.K. are set over the course of the summer. Singer said it was her preferred season to attend concerts.
“I went to a lot of concerts this summer that were outdoors in fields which I really liked,” Singer said.
Singer said she appreciates the opportunity London has to offer with such diverse and last-minute concert ticket bookings.
“Sometimes there are concerts I end up going to and I don’t even know about them until a week out, which is so much fun,” Singer said.
Sometimes there are concerts I end up going to and I don’t even know about them until a week out.
— Sophie Singer ('25)
Throughout his upbringing in the U.S., Sessoms was able to see popular artists such as The Rolling Stones, Beyonce, David Bowie and The Indigo Girls, along with going to festivals such as Lollapalooza. Sessoms said a lot of the world values the U.S. entertainment industry most, contributing to the importance of the growth of excitement for U.K. concerts.
“The U.S. acts, oftentimes, have a disproportionate impact on music culture globally,” Sessoms said. “A lot of the world looks at the U.S. entertainment industry as driving a lot of the messaging that’s happening and a lot of what we experience in music culture.”
Sessoms said the large amount of entertainment sprouting from the U.S. can tend to dominate and outshine other talents.
“I do worry that [the U.S.] often overshadows the talent coming from other nations as well,” Sessoms said. “Sometimes you have the American acts, and then you have everyone else together, even though there’s so much diversity.”
Singer said she is shocked by the growth of small genre artists coming on tour despite the upcoming tours of many highly popular international artists such as Drake and Rihanna.
“Morgan Wallen who’s a country singer is actually coming to the U.K. next month,” Singer said. “I’m pretty sure it’s already sold out which is crazy to think that such an American artist and small genre has such a large platform in the U.K. as well.”
Perrotis said he appreciates the newfound amount of smaller musicians doing concerts in the U.K.
“I think it’s great that smaller artists are coming to perform concerts in the U.K. because it diversifies the music we have access to,” Perrotis said. “I have quite a few friends going to these smaller concerts.”
Sessoms said living in London gives access and “opportunity to diverse genres of music in concert.”
Perrotis said concerts accentuate the quality and greatness of music because you get to experience the music in a different way.
“I think it’s really special that all of these artists are coming to the U.K. regardless of their popularity,” Perrotis said. “It’s a different thing to see them live than to just listen to them on Spotify.”
To Sessoms, live music has a great effect on the viewer, and is able to “change the way people view music.”
“These concerts have changed the way people think about music,” Sessoms said. “They’re not concerts, they’re experiences.”
