Should concerts start earlier?

No fucking way.

I recently came across a Reddit post that made me wonder: should concerts start earlier? The Redditor who posed the question made some good points. Although they acknowledge the fact that this may be an unpopular opinion, the Redditor voices their frustration with the late start times for headlining bands at concerts. Due to their age and early work hours, the Redditor would prefer to see the main act perform earlier. They express frustration with the long wait between doors opening and the headliner's set, suggesting a staggered schedule with opening acts playing progressively later slots to get the headliner on stage sooner. And he may be on to something.

Think about it. Let’s say the concert you’re planning on attending is on a weeknight—let’s assume it’s a Tuesday. You work until 5:00 pm. If you want to experience the entire show, you’ll need to already be dressed and ready to leave immediately after work so you can line up by, like, 6:00 pm sharp for when the doors open. Then, it's venue-hopping and seat-finding until showtime at 6:30 pm with the first opening act of the night. That band cranks out their set for a good 20-30 minutes, followed by a stage change that feels like forever (probably 20-30 minutes if you’re lucky). By 7:30 pm, the second opener hits the stage, playing their set for 30-45 minutes. Another stage change (another 20-30 minutes—again, if you’re lucky) separates you from the main event. But by now, it's pushing 9:00 pm before the headliner even takes the stage. The headliner comes out and does their thing for 60-90 minutes, finally wrapping up around 10:30 pm. And that's assuming everything runs like clockwork, which, let's be honest, it never runs like clockwork. In the best-case scenario, you're looking at leaving the venue and being in your car to head home around 11:00 pm. And let’s hope you didn’t travel too far or there’s not a ton of traffic as you head home, because then you may not be reaching your final destination of the evening until well after midnight. And remember, it’s a weeknight, so you have work tomorrow.

Admittedly, as an older millennial at 38 years old, I can say I’ve done my fair share of staying out late on a work night. Heck, I remember when that was the norm for school nights in my college years. But I’m not in my college years anymore. Although I can still rally if I need to, staying out late doesn’t sound as appealing as it once did. The early morning hangover from the late night before is a real thing even if alcohol is not involved. At this point in life, I’ve come to the realization that we older millennials need a good night’s rest—I’m not ashamed to admit it—and I know I’m in the older millennial majority here. Based on all of that, you can probably guess my answer to the question: Should concerts start earlier? But you’d be wrong.

Would I like concerts to start earlier? You bet your overpriced concert ticket I would! But should concerts start earlier?

No. Fucking. Way.

And there are several reasons why.

For starters, let’s talk about the availability of potential attendees because that’s the big one. Many concertgoers might be unable to attend if the concert starts too early due to work or other commitments earlier in the day. This would lead to unwanted lower attendance records which would in turn reduce the amount of revenue for the performers and organizers. Fewer people at the shows equals less money for the performers and venue. And let’s be honest, if the organizers and performers aren’t putting themselves in a position to capitalize on making the most amount of money for their time, then they aren’t very good at business. Ultimately, making more money for both of these parties makes it much better for everyone involved—even us concertgoers—as each will be able to invest in themselves ensuring they can both stay open and continue.

Ok, so maybe you don’t care about how much either party makes financially. After all, that doesn’t make it any more convenient for you. Well, another aspect to look at then is the potential for rush hour traffic. That would inconvenience any concertgoer. If concerts started earlier—let’s say just 1-2 hours earlier at around 4:00 pm or 5:00 pm—rush hour traffic would be a real concern as that’s when most people start their commute home from work. This would undoubtedly make it much more difficult for attendees to reach the venue on time leading to frustration and stress for both the audience and all performers—and nobody has time for that. Additionally, the chances of missing part of the show are much greater. Can you imagine paying ahead of time to watch a movie in theaters only to arrive late due to the early start time and miss the beginning of the movie? It’s the same concept, and no one wants that.

What about during those Summer afternoon outside concerts? Hot, hot, heat (not the band) concerns would be something to think about because depending on the location and time of year, starting concerts too early might expose attendees to extremely high temperatures. And no one likes to experience heat and sweat so suffocating while also being bumped and jostled around by a big dude with his shirt off who's practically soaked in his own skin fluid. But the worst part is the sickening slimy slide your arm makes as it brushes off his slick transparent gooey back as you bump into each other, leaving you with an unsatisfied feeling of disgust you wish would just go away, but it won’t because his thick skin sauce is now your skin sauce—a transaction you didn’t sign up for. Do you want earlier concerts during a hot day in August now? I didn’t think so. I don’t know about you, but I like to enjoy my time at concerts dry and with my own bodily fluids, especially nowadays when concert ticket prices are higher than ever.

Finally, there are the logistical challenges for performers and the sheer economic impact the timing of concerts has on local businesses. Regarding the former, many artists have tight schedules as it is with rehearsals, sound checks, and travel times leading up to the gigs. With all of the things that could potentially hamper travel times, bands and artists having more time to work with during the day allows them a better chance of arriving at the gig on time. Even if the ideal concert start time is earlier, if a band shows up late, then so does the headliner’s encore. As for the impact on local businesses, evening concerts often bring more foot traffic and business restaurants, bars, and shops as concertgoers dine out or explore the area before or after the event. Starting concerts earlier could potentially reduce the time available for pre or post-concert attendee activities.

As much as I would love to see concerts start earlier, to me, it would seem as if implementing this would be a bigger problem overall than it would seem on the surface. There’s a reason why concert start times are the way they are and have been since the beginning of time. Unfortunately, making the start times earlier comes at a cost, and I don’t think the cost outweighs the reward here. It is seemingly heavily one-sided in terms of who earlier start times benefit most and because of that, I think us old-ass millennials need to muster up the remaining shreds of our youth, slap on some knee braces, take a pre-nap if need be, and suck it up. Besides, who really wants to be at a concert before dinner? You’d be fucking starving before the headliner even takes the stage. Unless of course, the venue has some sort of all-you-can-eat buffet during set changes. Then, and only then, am I totally down.

All-you-can-eat buffets during set changes… that really is a good idea, you must admit.

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If you’re interested, we talked about this very thing on our podcast back in March 2023 when Jamie Lee Curtis brought the topic up in an interview. The discussion starts around the 4:44 mark.