Is Stormzy okay for a first timer concert?

 

Back when I was 13, the closest thing I got to a concert was the Choice FM Junior Jam! This was an annual event, held by the late radio station Choice FM (now Capital Extra), for U18's. There was always a range of high profile artists due to perform, which made tickets INCREDIBLY hard to get. I attempted to get tickets for every show, but only ever managed to get three. When you weren't successful it was like finding out Father Christmas wasn't real, life was over! The three events I went to had Bobby Valentino and Pretty Ricky, Mario and Chris Brown, and Ciara as the headliners. It was the best thing ever. An up up-close experience, with these previously unattainable celebrities. Now looking back, Choice FM had created this ‘safe environment’ for young people to have fun and listen to music. There was no alcohol, no drugs, no adults. Just kids having fun.

Fast forward to last night... I took my niece to her first ever concert to watch Stormzy. Needless to say, I was very worried. I’d watched Migos perform in the same venue the week before and it was off the chart crazy! Mosh pits and crowd fights galore, the crowd was so turnt. Although I had a great time, I couldn't help but worry how my 13-year-old niece was going to cope with this environment.

When we got to the venue there was barely any queue, so we went straight in.  Put our coats in the cloakroom, used the toilet and got some drinks. We were now ready to go inside. I took her right to the front (the left side of the stage), which ended up being the 'kid-corner'. There were three other boys her age with their mums right next to us. The security noticed there were young people in this area, and acted like personal body guards the whole night. If the crowd got too wild they calmed it down, and provided water when it got warm.

The visuals for the Stormzy show last night were amazing! You could tell he put a lot of effort in to designing the set and it paid off. We were even treated to fireworks and two huge confetti cannons. You can't have a concert without a special guest, so he bought out Ghetts (a certified grime legend)! Which amped up the show a notch. I think he knew he had a lot of children in the audience (as the event was 8+), he kept the performance quite mild and child friendly! He even bought some children on to the stage as backup dancers.

It was getting towards the end of the show, and my niece seemed pretty comfortable with the crowd. So, I asked her if she wanted to see a mosh-pit up-close. She’d seen videos on YouTube, and was excited to see what they were like in person. So, in we went. Everybody was jumping around, and it was an absolute sweat box lol but she liked it! I wanted to give her a proper concert experience without scarring her for life, and I think I managed to do that!

 

Thank you Stormzy for putting on such a great show.