Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve replaced air travel with road trips, indoor dining with outdoor dining, group gatherings with Google Meets and live concerts with virtual ones. 

Although nobody knows what the future will hold and when exactly it will truly be safe enough to hold and attend live concerts in the wake of a pandemic, the least we can do is take precautions and follow CDC guidelines, stay socially distanced and wear our masks.

With live concerts on hold, or in limited capacity, music fans are left wondering when they’ll be able to enjoy the music they love in a live format again. While the virtual side of concerts offers entertainment and excitement, concert-lovers have learned they don’t capture the true thrill of a live performance.

“I actually attended a virtual concert…I just know the experience of a real in-person concert would probably be much more enjoyable,” Jordan Kroyter, a Jupiter High School junior, said. 

Kroyter was supposed to attend the $not and GCSY concert in April 2020, but it was moved to a virtual format because of COVID-19 precautions.

Most fans can agree that live concerts are generally more enjoyable. However, they are usually very crowded and often involve people sharing snacks and drinks, all of which should be avoided during a pandemic. To follow CDC guidelines, concerts need to require social distancing regulations, separated seats, mask wearing and a limited distribution of concessions.

“Concerts bring together some of the highest-risk behaviors for COVID-19 transmission. We have large groups of people standing in close contact for an extended period of time while singing and cheering. Plus they would need to keep removing their masks to smoke or drink a beer. If we try to change these things, we would really change the entire concert experience,” Brian Labus, a professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ School of Public Health, told the Huffington Post.

With COVID-19 vaccines being distributed to nations globally, including the U.S., students have high hopes for the 2021 concert scene, but they also agree on safety first.

“As long as the numbers of COVID cases start to decrease, then I think everything will be good to open up. But if the vaccine isn’t as effective, then I think we should wait a bit on the concerts. Although I can’t wait to attend mine, I would much rather everyone be safe,” Madelyn Todd, a Jupiter High School junior, said. Todd was supposed to attend both of the Harry Styles and BTS concerts last year.

In order for us to attend our preferred choice of live concerts in 2021, we need to have the virus under control. Even if we have multiple vaccines on the way, that does not mean we can go back to our vastly different lifestyles from before the pandemic.

Although nobody knows what the future holds due to the virus and when exactly it will truly be safe enough to hold and attend live concerts, the least we can do is make sure to take precautions and follow CDC guidelines, stay socially distanced and wear our masks.