Energy radiated off the walls, lights flashed and music blared, and senior Joe Novak and junior Kelly Stifler were inches away from their favorite artists. Last summer they had the times of their lives.

Novak attended a Lady Gaga concert where he was able to stand in the front row with his brother, Scott Novak, class of ‘12, less than four feet away from Gaga and her dancers.  “Although the wait was five or six hours before the concert started, it was totally worth it to be so close to such an amazing and inspirational performer like Gaga. This was the ultimate concert experience,” Joe said.

A recent poll of the students who went to a concert in the last year showed that their favorite kinds of concerts to attend are those that are upbeat and energetic. The most popular genre of music they liked to see performed was pop. Of the 116 students that responded to the poll, 56 percent had been to at least one concert in the last year.

This past July, Kelly went to a Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean concert with her  sister, Sara Stifler, class of ‘11.  The concert was at Merriweather Post Pavilion. “My sister bought me front row tickets for my birthday, and we were right in front of the microphone. Luke Bryan gave me his pick and Jason Aldean ended up spilling his [beverage] all over me …  It was hilarious,” Kelly said.

Concerts provide different and exciting activities for students to do with their friends. There are almost always concerts being performed in the Baltimore and D.C. area.

Some upcoming concerts are as follows:

Feb. 13 and 14 – Mumford and Sons will be performing at the Patriot Center in D.C.

Feb. 19 – Shinedown and Three Days Grace with P.O.D. will be performing at the First Mariner Arena.

Feb. 25 – Matchbox Twenty and Phillip Phillips will be performing at The Lyric.

Emily Cassidy is an A&E Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.