How to Review a Concert

Attending a concert to write a review of it and attending a concert just for fun are two slightly different experiences. As a music journalist or blogger, it’s important to capture the entire scene in your review, which requires a certain amount of note taking. To pen a well-written and entertaining concert review, follow these steps.

Instructions

1. Get press access to the show. In order to review the concert, you’ll need to get in the door. If your editor doesn’t handle this for you, contacting the band’s publicist should work if you can prove your credentials.

2. Take notes. Write down your observations of the show or any quotes from the stage. Depending on your deadline and when you write your review you may not remember all of the details. Similarly, reading over your notes may remind you of things you didn’t write down.

3. Get the set list. This is especially crucial if you’re reviewing a show for a band you are unfamiliar with. You will need to mention what songs were played at the show in your review. If you don’t know the names of all of the songs, you can sometimes get a copy of the set list from the band’s merch guy or manager.

4. Catch the opening act. Yeah, it’s cooler to make a late entrance, but catching the opening band can give you a little extra to say in your review if the show is bland and you still have words to fill.

5. Find what made the show worth being at. What makes the concert worth writing about? Is it a large band playing an intimate venue? Is it a new act on their first big tour? Is it a hometown show? Did anyone special join the band on stage? These kinds of things should definitely make their way into the review.

6. Come up with a lead. Just like any article, a concert review also needs an engaging and informative lead sentence.

7. Review the band. Write about how well (or poorly) the band played, if they did any of their songs differently (and if so, how?) and whether or not there was any stage banter. Be as descriptive and detailed as possible.

8. Don’t focus on the audience. Write about what the band does, not the audience. However, do make note of who is there, what type of fans have shown up and whether it’s a large or small crowd. Whether the show was sold out or only 10 fans showed up, audience size has a tendency to affect the band’s performance.

9. State the place, date and time. Your review should mention the venue and date of the show, but also use details, like what part of town to give readers unfamiliar with the area a better idea of where the show took place. Also, if the show was earlier in the day, or extremely late at night, be sure to mention that.

10. Name the band members. Even if it’s a solo act, try to catch the names of the backing players. Lead singers aren’t the only stars of a concert, even if they are front and center. Don’t let your review be only a critique of the center stage.

11. Write to entertain. Make sure that, while packing in all the information about the band and the night as you can, you are also using engaging description and clever turns of phrase. Make the review fun to read.

Tips & Warnings

• Unless specifically asked to do so, stay away from using the first person in your review. It shouldn’t be a play-by-play of your night out (“I arrived at the venue just as the band took the stage, playing my favorite song”), but a snapshot of the night as a whole (“The band opened with a crowd favorite and the entire venue surged with excitement”).