By: Cecelia Gilmore, 2022
I am Cecelia Gilmore and I am a 19-year-old journalism student at Arizona State University. Prior to attending ASU, I have only ever lived in the same house in the same suburb in Westchester, New York. I reside about a 30-minute drive from New York City and frequent the city and its attractions relatively often.
My music taste has evolved a lot since my first experiences with music listening to the radio. I grew up loving pop music and pop artists. Therefore, when one pop artist I loved would have a concert in NYC I would beg my mom and my friend's parents to take us. The first concert I attended was at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey to see Taylor Swift on her 1989 tour. I was roughly 13 and had so much fun being able to experience a performance of some of my favorite songs live and in person. However, this stadium was huge and I was not close to Swift at all. I still enjoyed every minute of it and would not trade my first concert experience for anyone or anywhere else. Shortly after, I attended a Charlie Puth concert in the lower level of Webster Hall which is a music venue located in the East Village of Manhattan. This concert was when he was a smaller and less-known artist. In fact, there were more people there for the bar aspect and live music rather than to see him. He performed mainly covers and a few of his own songs that were not widely popular at the time. Being in a smaller and close-knit and underground venue was a different experience than I was used to. Prior, I had only attended huge concerts at stadiums or big music venues. These two examples are a juxtaposition of the music venues offered in NYC. There are so many other venues I had the pleasure of attending such as Madison Square Garden, Bowery Ballroom and the Beacon Theater. Therefore, when moving to Phoenix for school I had no expectations for its music scene. In fact, I did not expect myself to attend any concerts while studying here. The first concert I attended in Phoenix was the Backseat Lovers in the Crescent Ballroom. Being in a small venue surrounded by people just trying to have a good time was such a fun experience for me. Phoenix has made me realize that I enjoy going to concerts even for artists I only know a few songs for. I have been able to expand my music taste because of this and am excited to go to concerts. I have also had the pleasure of attending the Van Buren multiple times and Valley Bar once. Seeing the diverse nature of all of the music venues has been refreshing. They are all small general admission venues which is a refreshing contrast to New York. New York’s music scene is definitely different from Phoenix but both have introduced me to new and memorable music experiences. |
Interview with Cece about Phoenix Music Podcast:
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