Looking to add some extra cheer to your holiday season? Go to a concert. Here are 5 bulletproof reasons that going to concerts and live music events will make you a happier person.
1. Science! No, but really, a study published in Psychology of Music in July by researchers at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia analyzed 1,000 different survey respondents, and found that those who reported consuming more live music and concerts also reported being happier overall.
The co-author of the study, Melissa Weinberg, pointed at that concert-going and dancing correlated with happiness more than more passive forms of engagement, such as simply listening to music.
2. Experiences > Things. An experience can cost relatively little, be it a $5 trip to the coffee shop with a dear friend or catching a show with Jukely, but unlike material possessions, the dollar value of the experience has virtually no effect on its enjoyment.
While we might love our new shoes till we see a friend’s new shoes, this phenomenon (called “social comparison”) doesn’t apply to experiences; our perception of the time we spend on vacation, with our loved ones, and in the moment is not subject to being compared to how other people feel about their own experiences.
3. The only thing that can make you feel better than a concert is sex. Well, sex and exercise, but technically sex is exercise, so we’re calling that one a tie. The research is based on responses from 45,000 different people in the UK via a study by the London School of Economics, and you can check out the lead researcher’s TEDx talk on the subject below.
4. Memory recall of experiences makes them more precious and even better over time. Like a fine wine, your memories improve with age.
Research has shown that experiences are revisited many more times than past purchases, they do not decay with age, they possess a “nostalgia effect,” and can gain new meanings and new appreciations as we age.
5. Concerts are social experiences. A lot of people enjoy, prefer, or downright swear by going to concerts with friends, which makes sense, because hey, we’re social animals, and we crave human interaction.
Shows also make ideal atmospheres for meeting new people and making new friends, or for simply being part of something, part of a group or a crowd that’s experiencing something together without necessarily having to engage in social banter.
Whatever your holiday plans hold, guarantee good cheer through this season and beyond by getting a regular dose of live music. Best if taken with friends new and old; never expires.
Jukely is a concert club that provides members with access to concert guestlists for just $25 per month, no additional fees. Go to a concert every month, every week, or every day – it’s up to you! Go to music spots you already love, or discover new ones. You’ll never pay more for going to more shows. Save $10 on your first month by using the promo code 4OVER4.
