Alexis Aryeequaye, contributor

Concerts—you either love them or hate them. The bright lights, pumping music, hyped up crowds and high energy from the artist may be overwhelming for some, but to me, it’s about being part of a community. I went to my first concert when I was 16, at the Xcel Energy Center for Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour. I got the tickets from my cousin as an early birthday gift, and it was an experience I’ll never forget. The crowd was electric, and I was feeding off the energy of all the other fans in the venue. I love interacting with other fans of my favorite artists and being united in a fandom. Concerts are a central part of that experience for me. 

Whenever people go to a show, the main dialogue is commonly surrounding the headline artist. It makes sense —it’s their show— but someone who often gets left out of the larger conversation? Opening artists. Opening artists are performers who go on tour with headliners and perform a small set of their own music before the main artist goes on stage. This is done to showcase new talent in the music industry and give a career boost and platform to younger, newer artists in the industry. In the last few years however, I’ve noticed that this tradition has fallen out of favor with the most recent generation of concertgoers and artists. From seeing videos of people jeering at opening acts, to TikTok commentators claiming to skip opening artists completely and the rising cost of hiring and paying openers, this trend has led to some artists cutting opening acts from their shows altogether. 

Global girl group KATSEYE, for instance, in traditional K-pop-esque fashion, didn’t have openers for their last and most recent tours, nor did J. Cole or Lady Gaga. 

If this trend continues, this could lead to the premature death of live music. Which sounds dramatic in concept, but think about this: being an opening artist is how so many of the household names we love got their first moment in the sun in the music industry. Taylor Swift opened for Tim McGraw. Sabrina Carpenter opened for Taylor Swift during The Eras Tour and most effectively and recently, Chappell Roan opened for Olivia Rodrigo during the “Guts” tour. This, combined with some TikTok virality, caused her to go from niche and virtually unknown, to becoming one of the biggest names in pop music right now. 

Openers are also a way for the audience to broaden their taste and explore new music. When artists do add openers to their shows, the music of the opening act tends to be a different genre to the headliner, allowing audience members to experience new music for the first time in a completely different environment. When audience members skip openers, it discourages artists and their teams from going through the effort of finding, hiring, and promoting opening artists for their tours. Why spend thousands of dollars to hire an opener when no one is going to watch them sing? When this happens, new and emerging talent continues to go underrecognized and unappreciated, and another wave of art passes by with no breakout stars. 

Live music should be accessible for everyone who wants to enjoy it, and the only way to keep it around is for artists to pass the torch and for the audience to appreciate it when it appears. Chappell Roan would have never become “your favorite artist’s favorite artist” without being an opener first, so next time you’re at a concert with an opener, stick around for it. Who knows? You may be fueling the next generation of artists.