Seniors Alex Brown and Riley Castello, along with juniors Casandra Magee and Avery Steinke, are avid concert goers. To this tight-knit group of friends, concerts are more than just for music. It’s also an opportunity for them to get closer in the music community and make memories they’ll never forget.

“You doll up and then you go hit the town,” Steinke said, “For a night out with your favorite lads and lasses.”

Steinke has already been to nine concerts this year. One of the most memorable shows was when they went to the Car Seat Headrest concert and tried to carry in a prop for fun.

“My boyfriend Alex brought a car seat head from my car into the venue for the Car Seat Headrest concert,” Magee said. “We almost got kicked out because they thought it was a weapon.”

The group started going to concerts once live performances returned to the Houston area after COVID. They had the money and free time.

“Post-COVID, I hadn’t ever been to a concert before and a bunch of shows were happening again so I was excited to see live music,” Castello said.

The concerts the friends frequent range from the rock band Paramore to the singer/songwriter Taylor Swift, and even lesser-known bands like Black Midi.

It is the music community the group enjoys just as much as the music they hear at each show. At concerts, they meet so many people from all walks of life.

“The first concert I had ever been to was Thundercat,” Brown said. “I went with my two sisters and It was a nice time. I wore a really stupid hat and people complimented it there. So it says a lot about the people there. It was a plaid bucket hat.”

With ticket prices usually ranging from $25 to $30 for the group of friends, this can be an expensive hobby, but the group of friends doesn’t mind. To them the bonds they make and the live music are worth it.