By Chloe Tiffin-Gearing
You’re in a crowded festival field, the bass drops, and all of a sudden, you and the stranger to your left are jumping in sync and singing the same lyrics, despite being separated by language. This is what music is about. It’s an invisible thread that can tie people together, transcending social anxieties, backgrounds, borders and beliefs. Whether it be at a sold-out stadium concert or a small club in the backstreets of Brighton, live music will always manage to foster human connection.
The energy of being in a crowd and knowing you’re feeling the same pulse of the same song as everyone else in the room can turn strangers into lifelong friends. People across the globe attend events like Lollapalooza, Glastonbury and Coachella, but for a few days, their universe is shared, they are fundamentally the same, united by sound and emotion. People attend festivals and concerts for the music and leave with friendships, relationships and newfound cultural appreciation. Music creates a unique environment where minuscule moments can conjure meaningful connections, like lending someone a portable charger or helping someone navigate their way back to their friends in the crowd.
To me, one of the most fascinating things about music is its ability to communicate emotions without words. The guitar lick that plucks at your heartstrings, the perfect bass line or the mellow tune of a piano. Songs in different languages resonate with people worldwide, proving you don’t have to understand the lyrics to feel their impact. Genres like K-pop, Afrobeat, folk and reggaeton have equally become global phenomena, drawing diverse audiences who bond over shared fandoms. The rise of K-pop, for example, has created large international communities where fans from different cultures learn about Korean traditions, language, and lifestyle through music. Similarly, Latin pop has introduced Spanish-speaking artists to mainstream audiences, bringing people together through the universal language of rhythm and melody.
Even science has backed up that music is a type of social adhesive, as some studies have proved that activities like “singing, dancing, and drumming all trigger endorphin release”. That’s why people will often feel more connected with a person if they have experienced a concert together, even if they never knew each other before. Additionally, hearing live music can encourage you to interact with the people around you. You could be jumping into each other in the moshpit or singing with a busker in the streets; no matter the situation, music erases social barriers and leaves room for spontaneous moments of connection.
In a world increasingly divided by language, politics and backgrounds, music will forever stand as a reminder that people can still be united. It presents a common ground where cultures intertwine, memories are made, and bonds are created. Music is an unbridled force of peace with the power to bring people together.
So, next time you find yourself at a concert, look around. You are all there together to celebrate music, so you may as well celebrate it together. You might just make a friend or two.
Image: Lollapalooza Festival Chile 2019 en Santiago, Chile (March 29, 2019) ph / LollapaloozaCL
Reference: Dunbar RI, Kaskatis K, MacDonald I, Barra V. (2012). Performance of music elevates pain threshold and positive affect: implications for the evolutionary function of music.