It’s no secret that most concerts weren’t able to happen this year. Concerts are the time to witness the incomparable feeling of hearing your favorite songs live, grab some merch and enjoy life. Many of us concert lovers, with a year full of set shows, are left only to be either biting our tickets or crossing our fingers that the rescheduled dates are able to pull through. Fans and artists are left in a waiting period, wondering if and when their next show can happen safely. In the waiting period, streaming services can be found as one ounce of a silver lining.
Although not in the familiar “release, tour” pattern, many artists have been and are continuing to put out music that is able to be streamed on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, etc. It goes without saying how immensely advantageous this is for us fans who are able to actually have things to look forward to, and for artists, it’s a way to continue to connect with fans without that desired face-to-face experience.
This summer, my friends and I were geared up to see Alanis Morissette’s 25th anniversary tour of Jagged Little Pill. In late 2019, Morissette announced the tour and release date for a new album, only to end up postponing both come 2020. Such Pretty Forks in the Road, her new album, ended up being released everywhere in July 2020, the same month that we were supposed to see her live in Cleveland. The album gave me something to look forward to still for the month of July. All thanks to streaming services, I was able to open Spotify right at midnight and listen, just the same as many fans around the world probably did. The release on streaming services provided a connection. Instead of being at a venue surrounded by people all there for the same reason, we all sat in different places and opened our streaming apps to listen and support.
This was the case for many fans and artists. Another example of this was at the beginning of the year when The 1975 planned on kicking off its North American tour in Texas on April 27. Eventually rescheduling, it still released Notes On A Conditional Form in May.
Even without new releases, we can still mourn the lost 2020 shows by streaming. Harry Styles’ Love On Tour announcement came right before the release of Fine Line. Streaming Fine Line in lieu and imagining what color Styles’ sparkly Gucci suit would be feels like the only appropriate response while playing the waiting game.
Based on the rescheduled dates, in 2021, I will hopefully be attending the “26th anniversary tour” of Jagged Little Pill alongside other rescheduled shows as long as it’s safe to do so. In the meantime, I will continue to look forward to new releases to stream while supporting artists by streaming in general regardless of old or new. Streaming gives a provided connection that I wasn’t sure that I could feel, but I certainly can.
Lauren Patterson is a sophomore studying journalism. Please note that the views and ideas of columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Lauren? Tweet her @lpaatt.
