When sophomore Molly McCall traveled to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to see The Weeknd and Playboy Carti this summer, the familiar beat and recognizable songs reminded her of car rides with her dad.
“In the car, [my dad] put me on to rap a lot,” McCall said. “So I grew up listening to Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, people like that. And he gets free NRG tickets, so we just get to go to any of those concerts for free. Getting to go with him is fun.”
McCall has been to more than 10 concerts this year alone and rarely ever has to travel far. She has plans for more in the next couple of months – a bonus of living in the fourth largest city in the U.S.
There are over 30 concert venues within an hour of Houston, ranging from a capacity of 100 people to 18,000 people at the Toyota Center. Other venues such as NRG Stadium, House of Blues, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and White Oak Music Hall have become a weekend staple in many people’s lives.
While large venues are popular among big artists, students have found that small and mid-sized venues, like The House of Blues and 713 Music Hall, create the “concert culture” that fuels the experience, especially in big cities like Houston.
“You have more opportunities to meet the people, especially if they’re smaller and they’re newer,” senior Martha Vasquez said. “I definitely like that I have the opportunity to meet them.”
Being at the smaller venue paid off for Vasquez. When she went to the Crosby Rodeo in June, Vasquez met Ty Myers, as well as Myers’ dad, his best friend and his guitarist Reid Parker.
Other than seeing Myers, Vasquez has been to five concerts this year, most of which were country artists.
Similar to the Crosby Rodeo, Vasquez found that the smaller atmosphere at House of Blues, located in downtown Houston, was one of her favorites in the area.
“[The House of Blues is] not too small, not too big, and it gets very spacious pretty fast,” Vasquez said. “I really like that there’s not a lot of people sometimes.”
The House of Blues has a capacity of 1,750 people and is highly ranked among live music venues in Houston because of the variety in music genres and artists that perform. Genres found at the venue range from hip hop and rap to country and alternative.
Although Houston offers a variety of genres, some popular genres have limited shows. Junior Maverick Clark said finding concerts that pertain to his musical interests has been a struggle.
“[Oakwood] was really fun though,” Clark said. “A lot of people were jumping off of the stage and there was a mosh pit.”
Clark saw Oakwood, an emo band based in Austin, when the band performed at White Oak Music Hall in June. However, Clark’s concert experience and interest has been heavily influenced by his sister’s interest.
“I would say my sister got me into going to concerts,” Clark said. “She goes to a lot of concerts and so I kind of just tag along with her and she knows the kind of spots where they have them.”
The variety of venues in Houston allows for an easier outlet for students to have their own memorable concert experience. McCall also said she is lucky to live near a city with so many venues.
Later this month, McCall plans to see the Antagonist Tour, with Playboy Carti headlining and featured artists, Ken Carson and Destroy Lonely at Toyota Center. The opportunities to see her favorite artists at different venues has been what has made McCall’s concert experience memorable, she said.
“Since Houston’s so big I can just go anywhere,” McCall said. “You can either be at Toyota Center, NRG, Cynthia Woods Pavilion, 713 [Music Hall], Bayou [Music Center]. There’s just so many different places. It’s definitely helped because instead of having to drive five hours for each concert, it’s more accessible. Even if [the concert is] on a weekday, it’s only like an hour drive.”
