When we see our favorite artist perform at a stadium concert, we’re expecting a divine experience. After all, attending a massive show is the closest thing the average person might experience to a holy pilgrimage: strangers from all different walks of life coming together to share their adoration for one musical deity. We should end the night feeling enlightened, if not completely transformed.

Only that’s rarely how these shows actually go. A more common stadium experience nowadays involves stressing out over presales and going broke to buy a ticket, then struggling to see the stage or hear the musician you came to listen to. Just entering the venue with thousands of other people is its own headache.

This reality has never been more clear, thanks to social media. Only a few dates into Beyoncé’s highly anticipated Cowboy Carter Tour, fans have been flooding the feed with their less-than-ideal experiences attending the show. While most have raved about the quality of the production, consuming the three-hour concert in a stadium seems to come with some notable inconveniences, from lackluster views to chaotic VIP sections.

Fans have blamed Beyoncé, Ticketmaster, and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment for a lack of communication and transparency (but mostly Live Nation and Ticketmaster). In general, it seems like these large-scale concerts don’t really serve fans the way they should. Instead, they require a lot of money and effort for an experience where it’s often difficult to simply enjoy the music.

As Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Post Malone, Billie Eillish, and Ed Sheeran all embark on or resume stadium tours this year, it raises a crucial question about the future of concertgoing: Does anyone actually want to see a concert with 80,000 other people?

Stadium tours are the must-have social experience, whether we like it or not

If you ask Gen Z why they’re spending so much on concerts, they’ll cite a fear of missing out. According to a 2024 study by Merge, Gen Z tends to overspend — and spend impulsively — on live events, despite being a notably cost-conscious cohort. Participants for the study also listed peer influence and social pressure as reasons for splurging.

“Stadium concerts almost feel like Halloween.”

Stadium tours have become must-see events in recent years. According to Pollstar, stadium concert grosses for the top 100 facilities increased from $1.48 billion in 2019 to $2.68 billion in 2022. The

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