Concerts I went to as a fresher: Being at university doesn’t stop you having a good time

When starting university last year, I – understandably – had so many anxieties. How will I cope with the workload? Will I make friends? Am I going to fit in? Despite these almost universal concerns, there was one worry I had which rose above the rest – will I still be able to go to concerts?

I wasn’t going to let a Batchelor’s degree stand between me and what is essentially the second coming of Christ

I’ve always loved experiencing music in a live setting, seeing the artist do what they do best right before my eyes, however, I only began attending gigs regularly at the start of 2024. Since then, I have seen roughly 30 acts perform, and a humungous 15 of those were all in the 25-26 academic year. University didn’t stop my fun, and it shouldn’t stop yours either. Here are some of the best concerts I attended in the last year – if you love gigs, keep going; if you don’t attend concerts regularly, hopefully this will convince you to start. 

In Term 1, on Monday of Week 1, I travelled all the way to London’s Eventim Apollo to see Ethel Cain on her Willoughby Tucker tour. Truly, it wasn’t my best idea, but I wasn’t going to let a Batchelor’s degree stand between me and what is essentially the second coming of Christ. That gig – and, in particular, the track ‘Dust Bowl’ – pretty much defined my first year at Warwick: Ethel Cain on repeat, nostalgia tinged with melancholy, and concerts with a side of study. Seeing the lights come down just before Cain stepped on stage encapsulated every ounce of anticipation I was feeling in those first few days at university, and set the scene for the rest of the year. 

Fast-forward to November, a time when everyone is drowning in deadlines and I’m attempting to balance three submissions in a two-week span with three separate concerts: Sunday (1994), Lorde, and Matt Maltese. All three acts performed in Birmingham – the hub for gigs if you’re studying at Warwick. The city has plenty of venues, meaning that a 20-minute train opens the door to artists of all sizes, be that those performing at the O2 Institute (1500 capacity), O2 Academy (4000 capacity), or even one of Birmingham’s arenas – the Utilita and BP Pulse Live (both with capacities over 15,000). 

The sense of community, emotion, and unadulterated joy in the room was crushingly palpable

Lorde played the Utilita Arena, managing to fit over 20 songs into a setlist which lasted less than two hours, including her greatest hits (such as ‘Royals’ and ‘Perfect Places’) alongside all 11 tracks from her latest album, Virgin. Highlights definitely included ‘What Was That’, a performance fuelled by psychedelic lighting and intoxicated, uncontrollable choreography, and ‘Supercut’, Lorde strutting on a treadmill from the bridge onwards, the beat pounding so hard in my bones that I can no longer listen to the song other than when I am on a walk, able to strut in time alongside her. Watching the New Zealander power through the crowd before performing ‘Ribs’ – arguably one of the greatest songs of the 2010s – atop a tiny B-stage in the centre of the standing pit was unlike anything I have ever seen before, the sense of community, emotion, and unadulterated joy in the room crushingly palpable.

The Boar offers writers a huge range of opportunities which – before coming to Warwick – all seemed like dreams I would never achieve, yet, in February, I was able to go to Wolverhampton’s The Civic Hall to see the Kaiser Chiefs on their More Employment tour. I’ve written an entire article on the gig (which you can find on our website), but it was by far a highlight of my year: sitting beside my dad, surrounded by superfans, screaming the lyrics to the songs which soundtracked every journey to five years of swim practice was an unmatched moment. 

In March, I had the pleasure of witnessing Holly Humberstone play an intimate, album-launch show in Birmingham’s O2 Academy2, a smaller venue within the main building. Having seen Humberstone before in 2024, at O2 Academy Leicester in March 2024, I had deservingly high expectations. The last concert was incredible, a sea of 1000 people dancing out to her debut album, Paint My Bedroom Black; this time, there were only 600 of us, all eagerly anticipating Cruel World, Humberstone’s sophomore album, releasing later in the month. At the gig, we were lucky enough to hear acoustic variations of the unreleased tracks ‘White Noise’ and ‘Beauty Pageant’, songs which – after the album came out – quickly launched to the top of my playlist. Humberstone also played some of her earlier works, including ‘Into Your Room’ and ‘Scarlett’: hearing the same songs two years later was exactly the reassurance I needed in the months leading up to university exams, reflecting back to me how far I had come since the first year of college, and how everything had worked out – it was going to work out again. 

There was something perfectly symbolic about seeing first year off with Djo’s ‘End of Beginning’

My final concert of the year was All Points East, a music festival ran across two weekends in London’s Victoria Park. Surprise, surprise, I went to the Lorde date (22 August) with three of my best friends, but not to see the New Zealander play her Ultrasound Tour set again: I was going purely for Djo, the stage name of Stranger Things star Joe Keery. There was something perfectly symbolic about seeing first year off with ‘End of Beginning’, watching the sun go down behind the stage, the first chapter of my university adventure closing, but a new one just around the corner. That moment, alongside my friends, was unmistakably the ideal way to start second year: now I just need to see how many concerts I can book.