2026 has been a year for concerts, for returning artists such as Phoebe Bridgers or celebrations of new releases, such as Charlie Puth and Don Toliver; Students went to Don Toliver, Kid Cudi, and Charlie puth and decided to share their experiences. Students share their experiences with these concerts
On Friday, May 29th, Don Toliver performed at the Peoples Bank Arena in Hartford. Don Toliver’s music carries a vibe of psychedelic trap, melodic hip hop, and R&B. Freshman Aubrey Meyer went to this as her first concert and had an overall good experience with a little disappointment. “The only negative thing I have to say is that at some of his other recent concerts he brought out another artist, such as his one in Houston where he brought Travis Scott. But at ours, he did not bring out any other surprise artist, which was a bit disappointing,” said Meyer.
Don Toliver is similar to artists Travis Scott, Kid Cudi and is heavily influenced by other artists such as Sade, for vocal inspiration, and Mike Jones & Paul Wall, who also grew up in Houston, Texas, influencing more of his early music, giving diversity and creativity. “Although I wasn’t down there (the floor), I still feel like it was very immersive because there was always something going on that made the songs seem even better,” said Meyer.
Even without knowing all the words to the songs, Meyer still enjoyed the experience. “If I’m being completely honest, I hadn’t listened to much of Octane when she first invited me, and I should have listened to more of the album beforehand, but I didn’t…but anyway when we went, I didn’t know all the songs, but even without knowing all the lyrics it was so fun!” said Meyer.
On Wednesday, June 3rd, Kid Cudi performed at The Meadows Music Theater in Hartford. Kid Cudi is an alternative hip hop, psychedelic rap, and R&B artist. Saoirse O’Beirn, a junior at the Morgan School attended. “The concert itself was fine, I only knew a few songs, but when ‘ Pursuit of Happiness ‘ came on it was fun,” said O’Beirn. Tickets for the pit ranged from 240 to over 300 dollars.
Kid Cudi has a vibe similar to Kanye West, Travis Scott, Mac Miller, and Don Toliver. The concert overall carried high energy and was a fun event to attend for many according to fan opinions. “I mainly had fun because I was with all my friends and I was seeing everybody,” Said O’beirn. Although some seating is more favorable than others, the energy of the show carried everywhere. “My friend was in the pit, and she said it was more fun than being on the lawn, but it was still fun to have the experience and for $35 it was 100% worth it,” Said O’Beirn.
On Saturday, May 23rd, Charlie Puth played at the Mohegan Sun arena in Uncasville. Charlie Puth is a pop and R&B artist with a similar sound to Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, and Lauv. Sophomore Annabelle Jennings attended this concert sitting to the side up near the edges. “The concert itself was amazing, he sounded amazing, and I had so much fun singing along,” said Jennings.
The tour that Charlie Puth was on is the “Whatevers Clever!” tour to celebrate his new album Whatevers Clever!. Although this tour was based on the album and named after it, he did not play many songs from the album, “He didn’t play many of the songs on the album, which I was really disappointed about, but he did play many older songs that I love like ‘attention’” said Jennings.
With concert culture growing and the music industry rapidly developing, 2026 has a great outlook for tours coming up in the future with artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, Malcolm Todd, Olivia Rodrigo, Arianna Grande, Foo Fighters, and more.
