High school is a time where everyone goes and enjoys concerts, especially when Washington D.C. has a plethora of venus for artists to visit. Many tickets go on sale during school hours on school days which lead to students missing school and that is a pretty regular occurrence. Many WCHS students have gone to much farther extents to get concert tickets. This begs the question: is it really worth going to crazy lengths just to get a ticket for a one to two hour show? 

Many popular artists such as Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and The Arctic Monkeys have been (or are) coming to the DMV area, causing students to go crazy in attempts to purchase tickets. These actions include WCHS students missing school or purchasing resale tickets for a very high price. 

“I understand how people may think that it is crazy, but you only live once and these concerts do not happen everyday,” WCHS sophomore Elena Le said. “So yes, I will go a crazy way to get tickets.” 

As more popular artists come to the venus like The 9:30 Club, The Anthem and Capital One Arena, their fans will do anything to see them. WCHS students may argue that since WCHS students may argue that when their favorite artists come to Maryland, it is particularly worth it, but others disagree. 

“I like to go to concerts, but I would not miss school or pay a crazy amount just to see a singer or artist who does not even know that I exist,” WCHS sophomore Ashley Kundi said.

Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is a prime example of the lengths students will go to for concerts. Swift is one of the most popular artists in the world and at WCHS. Despite the fact that her closest concert location is in Philadelphia, PA, WCHS students went out of their way to sign up for presale codes the second the tour was announced on Nov. 1, and if they got a code, most waited for over five hours in the waitlist on Nov. 14 just to attempt to get tickets.

“I skipped school just so I could use my presale code to get tickets. I waited in the queue for so long and ended up getting kicked out,” Le said. “At the end, I never got the tickets.”

One question remains: is the chance to buy a concert ticket worth missing school and having to make up assignments? For some WCHS students, it can be viewed positively as an opportunity to miss school and get tickets at the same time.

“I liked the idea of missing school, but I was more stressed out the whole time, knowing I might not get ticket or that my computer will crash,” Le said.

When popular artists have very high demand for their concerts so the prices skyrocket and when less popular artists go to small venues, the prices are cheaper and the process is a lot less stressful and much easier. The problem all goes back to the artists popularity and the ticket demand for their show. 

“I like going to concerts and if the price is reasonable and there are tickets available, I’ll buy them,” Kundi said. “[However,] if they are crazy expensive and hard to get,  I don’t have the mental capacity [to go through that stress].”

Although students have resorted to extreme tactics to buy tickets for popular artists and bands, at the end of the day, it is their choice as concerts are a universal experience for all. 

“Since concerts give me so much serotonin, I’ll do anything to see my favorite artists” Le said.