Two Wristbands

Last night, I came home from work wearing two wristbands.

To some, a yellow wristband for the GA floor section and a red wristband signifying that I am over 21 might not mean much, especially considering that they were from the venue I work at, but having those two wristbands on meant so much more. 

Before last night, the last full general admission show I attended at a traditional venue with a standing floor was in March 2023: Samia at The Fonda in Los Angeles, the city where I went to school and studied music industry. And it’s not like I haven’t been attending shows and festivals since: I went to The Eras Tour, Coachella, Zach Bryan, and even saw Chappell Roan before her career skyrocketed. Yet last night was a reminder to myself of “this is why I work in music”, and how much of a community live music brings to people like myself.

The show in question? The Driver Era, at The Paramount in Huntington, New York. In case you didn’t know, I work as a Ticket Scanner for their box office, and yes, this is technically my first music industry job out of college. Although I graduated college with internships, extracurricular experience, and other projects that primed me well for a role on the business side, most of my exposure to working on the live side was from DIY endeavors, primarily house shows around USC. Being directly involved with the venue side of music is distinct from what I've done before, providing me with great insights in the field.

I took this shift knowing that I would be able to enjoy The Driver Era show after. Working a sold-out show can be hectic at times, especially with wristbanding attendees with floor tickets, having a separate VIP early entrance wave of people trying to secure their barricade spot, and the merch line wrapping down the stairs. Nevertheless, the excitement and energy from the fans brings me a new level of motivation and fulfillment, even if I am just scanning tickets, wristbanding, and interacting with customers and fans. 

Obviously, I wouldn’t be working in the live music industry if I didn’t love music, and I wouldn’t have purposely scheduled myself to be on for this specific band if I wasn't a fan. The Driver Era, a band consisting of brothers Ross Lynch and Rocky Lynch from Radio Disney era band R5, was a show that instantly caught my eye as soon as I found out that they were coming to Long Island, let alone the venue I work at. I grew up watching Ross Lynch on Disney Channel, and seeing the band’s sonic rebrand to a more rockier sound (no pun intended) got me hooked. Compared to other bands I’ve seen, The Driver Era musically reminds me of Wallows and Del Water Gap, but with a different wave of charisma that Ross, Rocky, and the band bring to the stage.

After I clocked out of my shift, I came back to the show as Alethea, the fan, not just as Alethea, the Ticket Scanner. One thing I noticed about this crowd in particular is how I fit the demographic of fan perfectly for this show: young women aged 16 to 24, wearing a trendy outfit consisting of a cute top and big pants, and grew up watching Ross Lynch on Austin & Ally. The girls that Austin Moon was marketed towards in the age of the teeny bopper pop star were now older, listening to indie music and bands like The Driver Era. I wouldn’t be surprised if people at this show were at the same midnight screening of One Direction: This Is Us in 2013 at the Huntington AMC.

I was initially planning on going to this concert solo. As an extrovert and someone who considers herself a big “people person", doing activities alone can be daunting. It took me 7 months of going to the gym to go by myself, and I even shocked my friends by telling them I went to CycleBar classes multiple times without anyone else. After telling my fellow scanners that I was staying for the show, to my surprise, a few of my coworkers also were planning on staying as well. When I went upstairs, (for reference: the venue is upstairs, which I tell ticket holders at every single shift after scanning them in) I ended up chatting with two people I went to high school with before The Driver Era came on stage. Even someone as outgoing and friendly as me can be intimidated with being alone in new environments, but at this concert seeing faces both familiar and new, I felt at ease. And although I was waiting by myself on the floor before my coworkers clocked out, I was never truly alone.

No matter if you go to a concert by yourself or with a group, being a fan of music in one environment brings people together. Everyone is there to watch and listen to the bands and artists play, whether you’re a superfan who knows every single lyric to every single song, or a music lover looking for any excuse to go to a concert, or even someone who just decided to tag along for a night out with live music. Even though I did not know the entirety of The Driver Era’s discography, I felt so connected and energized by not only the music, but the crowds as well. In that room, I felt connected to something bigger than myself for the first time in a long time.

I love being a music fan. I love being a part of the fan community for all of the artists I listen to, whether it be global superstars like Taylor Swift, or emerging artists, and everything in between. Fandom is more than just being a fan: it is about the community and connection you have with not only the artists, but also your fellow fans, which I experienced last night. I loved studying fandom in college, not because it gave me analytical study of something not heavily touched upon in my Music Industry program, but because fandom reveals so much about society from a cultural and anthropological lens. During my “Music As Communication” class, the Dean of Religious & Spiritual Life at USC, Varun Soni, came in as a guest speaker. He was part of a discussion surrounding Deadheads, one of the earlier indications of widespread music fandom. I distinctly remember him explaining why people turn to music and live events, and how it brings together people en masse in ways that are greater than themselves. 

Being a fan as a consumer is different than being a fan as a music industry professional, but when they merge, it’s the best of both worlds. I maintain professionalism and discretion to the job at hand when I am at work, and I soak in music passionately as a listener, but when the opportunity arises where both can collide, I feel like I've found my place.

Last night was more than just a concert and a work shift: it was the community and music that drove it, signifying the meaning of the two paper wristbands on my wrist. I’ve never felt more at home as both a music fan and professional as I did at that concert, and seeing the very same people I scanned in enjoying the concert brought me so much joy and fulfillment. This is why I work in music.

And with those two wristbands, I felt like I was home again.