Why music fans are booking flights with their concerts tickets: 'I cried. I loved it.'
Why music fans are booking flights with their concerts tickets: 'I cried. I loved it.'
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Fans on night one of Beyoncé's 'Cowboy Carter' tour
USA TODAY's Beyoncé reporter Caché McClay spoke to fans on night one of the 'Cowboy Carter' tour.
Many music fans travel out of state or internationally to attend concerts and music festivals.
Traveling for concerts can enhance the experience, allowing fans to explore new cities and experience different crowd cultures.
Finding community with other fans is a key benefit of concert travel.
Planning and budgeting are essential for successful concert trips, including booking flights and accommodations in advance and setting price alerts.
When Billie Eilish went on tour last year, Patrick Diaz jumped at the chance to see her live. Her latest record, 'Hit Me Hard and Soft', helped the 24-year-old through a breakup.
'It was such a healing album for me, and I knew I needed to hear everything in person,' he told USA TODAY. There was just one problem: Eilish wasn't stopping in Texas. The Austin-based content creator traveled to Chicago for her November concert, where he and a friend could stay with his friend's brother.
During the show, he got emotional hearing the pop star perform songs like 'The Greatest'.
'I cried just the way I cry when I'm listening in my earbuds," he said. 'I cried. I loved it. I yelled. It was such a fun, fun experience.' He enjoyed it so much he did it all over again the following month in Arizona.
Live music has long drawn travelers who hit the road or skies for the most convenient nearby shows, the cheapest concert tickets, or simply for the chance to see their favorite artists before a tour ends – in some cases for weeks at a time.
The Bank of America 2025 Summer Travel and Entertainment Survey, conducted among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults between late March and early April, found that half of Americans traveled for a concert, festival or sporting event – out of state, internationally or both – within the last two years. The survey also found that one-third (33%) of respondents 'plan to attend more concerts, sporting events and/or festivals this year compared to 2024.'
Concert travel offers more than just the show
Traveling can add new elements to the concert-going experience. Diaz likes to turn music-related trips into a 'mini-vacation,' visiting tourist sites like The Bean in Chicago, for instance. For his December trip, he said, 'I did know it was during the wintertime, so I didn't want anywhere that was gonna be too cold. And I was super down to explore Phoenix.'
The location can also impact the atmosphere of shows. Emily Sachs, a 29-year-old software engineer, noticed a different crowd culture in the U.K. while she was following the pop rock band The 1975 on tour in early 2023 – part of at least 60 shows she saw from them over roughly two years.
'In the U.S, people will sing and scream along to the words, but in the U.K., people will sing (along) guitar riffs, and it just adds another dimension of fun to the show that way,' said Sachs, who is based in New York City.
She noted hometown shows, like the British group's gig in Manchester she attended, have a special quality, as well. 'There is that extra dimension of, you know, they're putting on a show not just for their fans, but for all their friends and family, too. And it's always cool to see them come back to the place where they're from.'
Venues can also be as much of a destination as the city where they're located. Jasmin Grimpe attended one of Olivia Rodrigo's four headlining shows at Madison Square Garden during her Guts World Tour in April 2024, a musician's milestone.
Grimpe, 21, traveled in from New Jersey, and recalled Rodrigo's palpable excitement at playing there, where she brought out special guest Noah Kahan. 'So obviously that was super hype,' Grimpe said.
Even if the show is the priority, music can lead fans to unexpected – and some pleasantly surprising – places. Grimpe, who works as a waitress, went to Columbus, Ohio, to see alternative pop-rock band The Wrecks in 2022. She had never been, and left feeling it was the 'coolest, nicest city in America.'
'And I never would have gone to Columbus, Ohio, independently,' she said. 'And now if I see an artist going to Columbus, Ohio, I'm like, I know that's a good city to be in.'
'A great sense of community'
Grimpe is currently traveling the country with three friends to see The Wrecks on tour. While the band puts on the best live performance she's ever seen, she said there's also 'such a great sense of community at their shows.'
She met two of her three current travel companions at Wrecks shows.
Sachs, by contrast, went alone to the U.K. to see The 1975.
'I didn't know anyone, and just made friends along the way,' Sachs said. 'And, you know, I've got friends now in the U.K. and Scotland, that I'll go to visit. I think we bonded over our shared interests and the slightly intense passion we have.' In addition to seeing the changing narrative of the "At Their Very Best" tour – with its elaborate production – seeing her friends also became a draw.
Mya Spencer has similarly found her favorite artists to be a conversation starter. Before recently moving to Atlanta, the 24-year-old often had to travel from her home in Huntsville, Alabama, to see concerts, meeting other fans through social media or while waiting in line to get into venues.
The K-pop fan said a stranger's compliment on a BTS charm on her purse in April turned into a 30-minute conversation. 'I've had a lot of interactions like that, and we'll just connect,' she said.
Tips for traveling to see live music
Traveling for a concert is more complex than driving across town – and typically more expensive. Grimpe's strategy varies depending on the artist.
If tickets are cheap and easy to get, she considers what city is most convenient. She lives near Asbury Park, and is about halfway between New York and Philadelphia. 'So, normally, someone's always going to one of those three cities,' she said.
But if the prices are steeper – like they were when she went to see Chappell Roan last year – she looks for affordable shows.
As soon as she knows when she'll be traveling, she tells her boss at the restaurant where she works. He knows Grimpe eventually wants to work in the music industry, she said, and is 'very understanding' sparing the waitress.
Grimpe books hotels and other travel on Expedia, so she can take advantage of rewards and keep her details in one place, and makes a detailed budget down to the day. Rather than being restrictive, she finds sticking to a set price range 'forces you to get more creative and kind of forces you to have more fun.'
Katy Nastro, a travel expert at Going, noted that airfares have decreased even as concert and festival ticket prices surge.
'We (at Going) often see nowadays the experience, whether that's a VIP festival pass or front-row concert seats, become the biggest cost,' she said in an email.
That was true for Diaz, who paid roughly $250 each for his Billie Eilish tickets and a little over $100 for each of his round-trip flights.
If you have a particular out-of-town concert or music festival in mind, Nastro recommended setting price alerts for that destination – which users can do in the Going app – to be notified when fares drop (Going is also testing alerts in its app for deals on airfare to cultural events such as Coachella).
Depending on how much notice you have, booking flights within the 'Goldilocks Window' – one to three months ahead of domestic travel and two to eight months before international trips – is another bargain-hunting tactic, and buying two one-way flights on different airlines can sometimes be cheaper than a single round-trip ticket.
As soon as tour dates drop, Spencer said she goes ahead and books hotels and flights. 'Depending on what kind of community you're in, see if (there's) anybody in your city you could get in touch with and maybe go to the show together in order to split the cost,' she said.
Eilish later announced Austin tour dates for 2025, which Diaz plans to attend, but he has no regrets about traveling to Chicago and Phoenix to see her. Diaz and a close friend traveled to Phoenix together, allowing for more quality time than if they had gone to a show locally.
'If Billie had a show in Austin, we would just get ready and go to the concert,' he said. 'Meanwhile, in Arizona, we had to take a flight to Arizona, we had to do all the stuff together in Arizona … and it feels like just one big hug when I think of the trip.'
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Rebel Wilson's 'Pitch Perfect 4' prediction makes Anna Camp giddy
We've got some aca-awesome news for "Pitch Perfect" fans: Rebel Wilson is practically warming up for a fourth chapter, as she's convinced there's more in store for the Bellas. Wilson told The Guardian that Universal is working on scripts for another verse in the song that is the "Pitch Perfect" franchise. 'You're basically announcing 'Pitch Perfect 4' will be happening … at some point," Anna Camp teases Wilson while promoting "Bride Hard" in an interview with USA TODAY. The action comedy (in theaters now) reunites the two "Pitch Perfect" stars. In 2017's "Pitch Perfect 3," the a cappella singing group − also comprised of Anna Kendrick, BrittanySnow and Hailee Steinfeld − reunited to perform at an overseas USO show. 'I don't know," Wilson tells USA TODAY. "I have a feeling it could shoot next year, but we'll see.' 'Oh, my God, I hope you're right!" an elated Camp responds. "That'd be exciting.' 'The fans have been so eager for it," Wilson says. "It's had such a great life on streaming platforms like Netflix. There's so many people around the world who are fans of these movies and want to see us, and we're all legit real-life friends. We all want to come back and do it. I guess it's just the question of the script.' The story is also key for Camp as well. 'If Kay Cannon (writes) up an amazing script," Camp says, "we'd all be there with bells on ready to sing our little hearts out.'
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
'F1' Onscreen: Critics Weigh In on Brad Pitt's Racing Blockbuster
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. With less than a week left for the release of the Formula One-based movie, F1, fan excitement is at an all-time high, with many awaiting a glimpse of what they could expect. Thanks to the press screenings for critics and audiences before the movie's release on June 25 (June 27 for North America), fans can now walk into the theaters knowing what to expect. F1's recent star-studded premiere in New York saw Formula One drivers, team principals, Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, and the crew make headlines with their appearances. However, what matters next are the reviews. IGN Starting with IGN, critic Clint Cage said that F1 has elevated the standard of sports movies. He said: "As a sports movie following some pretty tried and true tactics, F1 ups its game at every stage of things. This won't win it any awards for originality, but it still adds up to a real win." Brad Pitt, star of the upcoming Formula One based movie, Apex, and Damson Idris, co-star of the upcoming Formula One based movie, Apex, walk on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain... Brad Pitt, star of the upcoming Formula One based movie, Apex, and Damson Idris, co-star of the upcoming Formula One based movie, Apex, walk on the grid during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 09, 2023 in Northampton, England. MoreAddressing the work of Director Joseph Kosinski, he added: "On a technical level, F1 is impeccably put together. Kosinski and his frequent collaborator, Academy Award winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda, put cameras in just... all the places. Picking up where they left off with Top Gun: Maverick, F1 is filled with impossible angles and quick, robotic pans that make us feel like we're at the mercy of these rocketship machines" F1 aims to showcase the premier class of motorsport to a wider audience in an authentic way, and IGN's review hints it has achieved that goal. Cage added: "There's a deep cultural familiarity with what a Formula One race is supposed to look like onscreen. F1: The Movie gets that too. One shot puts you intimately and dangerously into the driver's seat while the next feels broadcast-worthy. "The editing does the same as well, thanks to Stephen Mirrione, another member of the pit crew with an Oscar in the garage. F1 is cut beautifully and peacefully in stretches, chaotically and nervously in others." He added: "All the pieces that you'd expect are there - and, again, plussing up the 'familiar' is the best thing Kosinski and his crew have done with F1. They've built a super-charged vehicle that can outdo the competition on almost every level - give or take a two-and-a-half-hour-plus runtime." Rotten Tomatoes With a score of 88% on the Tomatometer, F1 seems to have made its mark. Here are a few reviews by critics: Samuel Leggett Jr. stated: "It has it all, amazing camera work, astonishing racing scenes and locations, a great cast, & electric chemistry from Idris and Pitt! This film is truly one of the best films this year & one of the best racing films of all time. Will leave you breathless!" Doug Jamieson wrote: "Visually, it's undeniably impressive. But strip away the carbon fibre, and what remains is a movie filled with clichés, weak character arcs, and a script that strains to be inspirational while instead delivering a lot of empty noise." Stephanie Zacharek stated: "Brad Pitt, at 61, has finally aged into roles like these. And sometimes, as F1 proves, they're the best thing that can happen to a guy." BBC Nicholas Barber of the BBC described F1 as "the slick and shiny new summer popcorn film." However, he pointed out that "the biggest issue with F1, though, is not its insistence on showing its leading man in a flattering light, but its equivalent, fawning attitude towards Formula One itself." Comparing Kosinski's work on Top Gun: Maverick, he added: "While Top Gun: Maverick was a masterpiece that pulled viewers into events in and out of the cockpit, F1 is simply a competently assembled collection of underdog sports-drama clichés. It never convinces you that its protagonists are human beings, and never persuades you that Ruben's team are more worthy of support than their competitors. I was more invested in the podrace in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace than any of the races here." Rating F1 two out of five stars, Barber said the movie is best-suited for F1 fans. He concluded: "Making a film about a series of long races just wasn't a bright idea. Formula One enthusiasts may disagree, and they may be delighted that their beloved motorsport has been put on the big screen in such a laudatory fashion. Everyone else: this is not where you want to be." Attractions Magazine Connor Webber of Attractions Magazine has praised F1, likening it to Kosinski's work on Top Gun: Maverick. He stated: "What the 'F1: The Movie' team was able to accomplish with the camera work and editing is unreal. My heart dropped watching the camera move while the car is racing at 200 mph. There are no punches thrown in this film, but it has some of the best action in any movie this year." Awarding F1 with a score of 4.5/5, he added: "Just like 'Top Gun: Maverick,' 'F1: The Movie' never forgets the human element: the heart, the relationships that make the spectacle matter. The performances here aren't just passengers in the ride - they steer it (hehe)."
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Spoilers! Who is that mystery man at the end of '28 Years Later'?
Spoiler alert! We're discussing important plot points and the ending of '28 Years Later' (in theaters now), so beware if you haven't seen it yet. The horror sequel '28 Years Later' introduces several new characters into the post-apocalyptic world director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland envisioned in 2002's '28 Days Later.' And the most fascinating personality is the first person we meet in the new movie who we don't get to see again until the very end. '28 Years' centers on a quarantined U.K. three decades after a rage virus broke out and infected habitants, turning them into zombie-like people. In an isolated survivor community on Holy Island, 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) is taken to the mainland for the first time by his dad Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) to kill an infected. Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox Spike learns of a mysterious doctor named Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) so, with his mother Isla (Jodie Comer) ailing from an unknown disease, he returns to the mainland to find him. There, Spike runs afoul of the muscular infected Alpha known as Samson and witnesses his mom help an infected woman give birth. (The baby, shockingly, seems healthy, though its mom dies.) They then are saved by the odd but compassionate Kelson, from whom Spike gets an important lesson on life and remembering death. Let's dig into the biggest spoilers and lingering questions, including who that bad guy is in the film's final moments and what fans should expect in the next installment, '28 Years Later: The Bone Temple' (out Jan. 16): What happens in the ending of '28 Years Later'? Kelson examines Isla and discovers she has breast cancer − it's spread to other parts of her body and is terminal. He helps to end her life, burns the body and returns the skull to Spike so he can place it atop Kelson's extremely tall Bone Temple, which memorializes the dead. Kelson helps Spike and the baby to escape another attack but Samson follows Spike to the island, where the Alpha is killed. But instead of staying, Spike leaves the baby with his dad to be raised on the island while he decides to live his life on the mainland. In the final scene, Spike is attacked on a road by a bunch of infected but is saved by a group of blond-haired strangers, and that's where the unnerving Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O'Connell) introduces himself. In the movie's opening, Jimmy is seen as a child at the outbreak of the virus, watching 'Teletubbies' before infected family members attack each other. His preacher father is scarily happy to see God's Day of Judgment come, and he gives his son a cross, which as an adult Jimmy wears upside down on a necklace. Jimmy and his cult – with names like Jimmima and Jimmy Ink, and a violently amusing air a la Alex and the Droogs from 'A Clockwork Orange' – feature "very heavily" in 'Bone Temple,' Boyle promises. 'The first film is about grief and the nature of family. And these Jimmies are one of the families that it sort of looks at. But the second film is about the nature of evil.' Garland adds that Jimmy is "someone genuinely frightening, but we understand how he got to be how he is. And the most interesting interaction for me is what happens when Kelson meets Jimmy.' What is the secret website in '28 Years Later'? If you visit the fictional 'dark web' page it fills in the blanks about what's happened in the U.K. since the rage virus broke out, maps that show the geography of this part of Europe after three decades, and other interesting world-building elements. (Need the password? It's "mementomori" – Kelson's favorite phrase.) What is Cillian Murphy's role in '28 Years Later'? Murphy, who won a best actor for 'Oppenheimer,' was the main star of '28 Days Later' playing bicycle courier Jim, who wakes up in a hospital after a traffic accident to find an empty London and an infected England. His main role in '28 Years Later' is actually as an executive producer: He doesn't appear on camera but Boyle has said that Murphy will appear at the end of 'Bone Temple' and play a central part in a planned third movie. Wonder if Jim will have something to do with Jimmy and the Jimmies? Does '28 Years Later' have a post-credits scene? It does not, but the ending hints at where things might go and who they'll involve, from Kelson to that little baby. And 'plenty of challenges' await Spike in 'Bone Temple,' Boyle teases. (Garland wrote the next movie but Nia DaCosta will be in the director's chair.) 'It's not going to be easy what he will have to overcome in the second film.' Boyle believes 'Bone Temple' is 'the most original piece of screenwriting since 'A Clockwork Orange.' There were lots of people saying, 'Oh, we should change this, we should cut this. It's too disturbing.' And it is disturbing and it is risky. 'The first film stands alone and the second film will stand alone,' he says, 'but they are umbilically connected in a way that will enrich the experience eventually.'
