people's princess: the tour

on concert etiquette as a lost art, tiktok's effect on artist/fan relationships, a media collection inspired by my favorite albums, and musical artists becoming activists.

this post cuts off if you’re reading it in your email. to make sure you’re seeing the full post, it is best to read this one in the substack app or on the web. love you!

i’m not going on tour (unless you count the train ride from NJ to DC where i’m writing this) because i am just a girl on the internet who writes these posts for you. also i am broke, i don’t have anything to share on a tour, and i have stage fright. sorry for being clickbaity, it will happen again.

act zero: cell phones on silent, the show is about to begin

soundtrack: this is when artists play their playlist before the show starts, so here’s a playlist of my favorite songs for you to listen to:

welcome to the people’s princess tour! this is a 3 act concert (essay) where i’m channeling my love for concerts and music into this mega discussion. okay, it’s just an essay with a media guide in the middle of the two parts, but it’s a media guide that i’m SO proud of. this turned into a passion project for me, so i hope you stick around and enjoy the show!

for my free subscribers, visit the people’s princess merch stand (the button below) if you’re interested in upgrading to a paid subscription. you’ll have full access to this entire post, my weekly paid posts, and my entire heart.

act one: did you forget how to behave normally in the presence of others?

soundtrack: this is playlist of one song from every artist i’ve seen in concert

monday night i went to the new jersey leg of kacey musgraves’ deeper well tour. i hadn’t been to a concert since the eras tour last may (my surprise songs were getaway car ft. jack antonoff and maroon, before you ask) and i felt overdue for the unparalleled feeling of standing in a crowd of people, all connected by a mutual love and appreciation for the music filling the venue. i’ve been to a lot of concerts, from sold-out stadium shows to tiny, intimate clubs and each concert has such distinct memories attached.

i remember before the pandemic started, i skipped my college writing class to buy tickets for harry styles’ love on tour. then of course, we all know what happened in early 2020, i was sent home from college and spent the majority of my time laying flat on my back in my bed with fine line playing out loud. the concert was supposed to be in july 2020, and my depressed and deluded brain spent the first month or so of lockdown convincing myself i would still get to go to the concert. when the day came that the concert was canceled, i was devastated, but it led to me brainstorming lists of concerts i desperately wanted to go to as soon as the pandemic ended and lockdown restrictions loosened. before COVID, i had been to many a concert since my first live show at 11 (my mom brought me to a maroon 5 concert with her), so i understood the unspoken rules that were put in place to ensure a positive experience for the attendees and the artist.

cool pic of kacey that i took

i missed the energy pouring from the crowd as everyone screamed their favorite song with the artist. i missed the anticipatory drive to a concert, listening to the band’s music to prepare. in truth, i just missed living in a world full of life, one far outside the confines of my bedroom, and concerts (along with friends, college, and just the basic day-to-day motions of life) were a huge absence.

once the pandemic restrictions began to lift, and the world seemed to come back to life, concerts started up again under a very new set of rules. artists emphasized wearing masks, protecting themselves and their fans from the virus still spreading. it seemed like artists and their teams had thought of everything, how to have a safe yet fun experience for those who longed for the return of live music. but what wasn’t taken into account was the intense rise in parasocial relationships young people formed during a time when their primary activities included scrolling through tiktok.

obviously, what came after was chaos. social skills were at an all-time low, people forgot how to behave in spaces like concerts. enter the tiktok videos documenting this rise in concert shenanigans. one of the worst (in my opinion) examples: phoebe bridgers singing “moon song” and being interrupted by fans screaming “mommy!!!!!!!” at her. where’s your decorum? aside from the fact that phoebe publicly spoke about her abortion, so calling her “mommy” is wildly inappropriate and insensitive, behavior like that, screaming at your so-called favorite artists, constantly throwing things at them, doing anything for a solo interaction or moment to post on tiktok for a tiny bit of clout, altered the concert experience of days prior.

you are not the star of the concert!! i know fans pay a lot of money to go, so before you go “sarah please! it’s my money, i can do whatever i want at a concert! it is about me!” i would like to remind you that the entire purpose of a concert is to be among other music lovers, to come together as a community to hear the music you love. it’s not about screaming loud enough for phoebe bridgers to notice you, do you really think you’re that special? do you care more about making a tiktok than watching a concert?