The Oldest Person at the Concert
June 2022 at the El Rey in Los Angeles. Ricky Montgomery is about to start his show. You’re standing in the back, dancing to the Big Country song playing over the speakers while the kids in the pit cheer for photos of Shrek on each others’ phones. You are the oldest person at the concert. However, you’re not the only one claiming this title. How did everyone suddenly become the oldest person in the crowd? You can’t all be the oldest one, so what’s going on here? Are the crowds around you getting younger? Are you misinterpreting everyone’s ages? Is anyone else concerned about knee and back pain at general admission shows? The answer to all these questions, likely, is yes.
Younger Crowds
No matter what show you’re attending, it is likely that the crowd around you is younger than you used to think. People get old and die and new ones are born, as humans tend to do. And as these new humans grow up, they start to develop their own taste in music. This tends to peak around the age of 13-14. Around this age, one's taste in music is of great importance to their identity, if not the most important aspect. The identification with a musical subculture provides not only a sense of identity but also belonging to adolescents looking to discover themselves. While these subcultures provide communities for people of all age groups, the intensity of affiliation with younger groups is understandable, as their place in the world is still being discovered.
In addition, people at younger ages are gaining access to more music than ever before. With nearly the whole world’s music available on streaming services nowadays, people can discover more music than they could in the past when physical media was the dominant form of music consumption. This increased access to music also brings the opportunity for people to become musicians at younger ages as well. Self-publishing music is easier today than ever before, allowing nearly anyone to post their music for others to listen to. These younger artists in genres like “Alt Z” are peers to the younger listeners who are attending concerts.
With fewer responsibilities in their adolescent years, growing interest in music in their developmental years, and more access to music and music creation than ever before, it makes sense to believe that the surrounding crowds are younger than you. However, if the crowds were comprised mostly of pubescent teenagers too young to drive, there would likely be just as many parents in the crowd, so this can’t be the full story.
Incorrect Ages
While it is likely that the crowds at various shows are getting younger as people age out of high-intensity events like concerts and new fans emerge, there is an important fact to consider when assessing the ages of those around you. Humans are horrible at guessing others’ ages. People tend to be about 8 years off when guessing someone’s age. Combine that with a wider array of fashion and makeup along with cosmetic procedures beginning at younger ages thanks to social media and suddenly the guessing game is all over the place. So while the crowds might be younger, assumptions about others’ age might just be wrong.
Bodily Aches
A final consideration in the age guessing game is the surrounding context. What kind of show is it? In the case of Ricky Montgomery, an artist who has exploded in popularity on TikTok, the crowd likely skews younger. 25% of TikTok users are between 10 and 19 years old, with another 22.4% in the 20 to 29 year old range. At the El Rey, the crowd was probably as young as expected. However, the crowd at a heritage act’s show is likely to draw an older crowd. The seating at these shows tends to cater to older crowds, those who have problems with the back and knee pain of general admission shows who prefer softer theater seating. As with many situations in life, situational context is important in determining information about strangers.
Why Does It Matter?
So, there are many factors to consider when determining the age of those around us. But the real question is, why does it matter? Why does anyone care if the crowd is getting younger or if you’re the oldest person there? It most likely stems from a fear of change. Growing attached to a certain band or artist at a pivotal developmental point in one's life will naturally make one defensive against anyone who tries to take things in a different direction. However, without new people and new perspectives being added to various music scenes, we wouldn’t have the wide variety of music we have today. As genres and subcultures grow and develop, aspects that once drew someone to them might be lost, but some might also be gained. By letting nostalgia fuel fear and defensiveness, we are preventing what might be positive change. Maybe those TikTok kids cheering over Shrek will go on to create a beloved new genre of music.
Conclusion
Humans are human, and a preoccupation with age and change will never truly go away. However, by allowing ourselves to acknowledge differences without becoming defensive toward them just because they’re different, we allow the world around us to grow and adapt. Music has become what it is because it never remains stagnant. Countless varying perspectives of the same work, culture, or experience can breed wonderful things if you allow them to. So allow yourself to dance to 80’s songs adjacent to those who prefer to celebrate animated movie protagonists, because you never know what that subtle shift in concert atmosphere might create.
Gasser, N. (2019). Why you like it: The science and culture of musical taste. Flatiron Books.
Gladwell, M. (2019). Talking to strangers: What we should know about the people we don’t know. Back Bay Books.
Howarth, J. (2024, June 12). TikTok user age, gender, & demographics (2024). Exploding Topics. https://explodingtopics.com/blog/tiktok-demographics#tiktok-demographic-data
McDonald, G. (2024). You have not yet heard your favorite song: How streaming changes music. Canbury Press.
Parris, D. (2024a, April 10). When do we stop finding new music? A statistical analysis. Stat Significant.
Parris, D. (2024b, August 7). How long does music stardom last? A statistical analysis. Stat Significant.
Passman, D. (2023). All you need to know about the music business (Eleventh Edition). Simon & Schuster.
The Style Theorists. (2024, May 11). Why does gen z look SO old? | style theory [Video]. YouTube.