How to Find Concert Buddies Who Love the Same Music
You've bought a single ticket one too many times. Someone would scream every word beside you, and finding them is simpler than it feels.
Team Alyke
Tickets drop Friday morning. You've got the presale code, the playlist on repeat and a free night, and nobody who wants to come. Your friends like music the way most people do: big names, once a year.
You want the one person who'd buy the ticket before you finish the sentence and still be talking about the bridge on the ride home. That person exists, and here's where to look.
The best concert buddy hears music the way you do
Think of the best show you've seen with someone. They probably wanted the same night you did: barricade from doors or back by the bar, every word or eyes closed. That's personality. The band is the interest. A concert buddy who lasts fits you on both.
A Dartmouth study saw it in the brain: when friends watched the same videos, music clips among them, their brains responded in exceptionally similar ways.
More people want a plus-one than you'd think
It looks like everyone else came in a group. They didn't. About three in ten American adults went to a concert in the past year, so your people are in every room. When the National Endowment for the Arts asked people who'd skipped an arts event they wanted to see, more than one in five blamed having nobody to go with. That's a lot of people with a playlist and no plus-one, waiting for someone to ask.
Three ways to meet people who love your music
Each works best alone: with nobody to lean on, you talk to strangers, and everyone there chose live music over a night in.
Go to a secret show by yourself
Sofar Sounds puts on small shows in all kinds of spaces, often with floor seating. The address lands the day before. Everyone there bought a ticket without knowing where they were going, which makes “how did you hear about this?” the easiest opener going. Go monthly, and sit by someone new each time.
Make one record store your regular
There are nearly 1,400 independent record stores in the U.S., and Record Store Day fills them every April and on Black Friday with in-store sets and meet-and-greets. The rest of the year, pick one shop and go weekly: whoever's in the same bin already shares your interest, and the opener is whatever they're holding.
Work a shift at a show
HeadCount, a nonpartisan nonprofit, sends volunteers to register voters at concerts and festivals, and you see the show. A shift is hours of talking to strangers beside fans who'd rather be at a gig than anywhere. Two or three shifts in, you'll know who you'd want at the barricade.
They work, and they cost you months of nights out alone and plenty of people whose taste is two genres from yours. If you'd rather start with the one person whose playlist already overlaps with yours, there's a shortcut.
The easiest way to meet a concert buddy who gets your music
Alyke is built to help you find intentional friends, one person at a time. Most friend apps hand you generic recommendations. Alyke starts your feed with the people who share your vibe the most, based on your interests and personality instead of your looks. That's what makes it easy: you skip the solo months and the merch-line opener, because you start with someone whose taste and temperament already fit yours.
You pick Concerts and the genres you'd defend in an argument, Indie or Metal or R&B, and write a line on each one. When a line sounds like you, reply to it and hit Add Friend; that's the whole request. Once they like your vibe, you two are friends, and the chat starts under the line you replied to, already about a song.
Questions people ask
Should you meet a concert buddy before the show?
Yes, if you can. A short coffee the week before tells you far more about someone than a few songs in a loud room, and it means the show isn't your first time together. Alyke makes this easy, because your chat opens with the comment you left on their profile, such as on their Concerts interest or favorite band, so suggesting coffee is a natural next message.
What can you do with a concert friend besides go to shows?
Plenty. Dig through a record store together, listen to a full album at one of your places, sing karaoke or catch an outdoor set in the park. Alyke profiles show up to eight interests, so check theirs for ideas: if they've added Karaoke or Coffee alongside Concerts, you already know what to suggest next.
Is there an app to find friends by music taste?
Yes. On Alyke, music genres like Indie, Hip-Hop, Country and EDM are interests you can add to your profile next to Concerts, and the people who share the most with you show up first. You can also answer a prompt such as "The song that explains me:", so other fans can comment on it and start a conversation about music.
What's the best app to find concert buddies?
Alyke is a friendship app for iPhone that helps you find concert buddies who love the same music. You can add Concerts plus genres like Indie, Hip-Hop, Pop or Rock as interests, and Alyke shows you the people with the most in common first. To add a friend, you comment on something in their profile, like a band they mention. Plan your first show a few weeks out, so you have time to meet for coffee first.
How do you find people to go to concerts with?
With Alyke, you can find people to go to concerts with by adding Concerts as an interest and writing a short sentence about the music you love. Browse fans whose interests and personality are closest to yours, and comment on something in a profile to send a friend request. Once they like your vibe, the chat opens with your comment. Mention a specific upcoming show you're excited about, since it makes saying yes easy.
Is Alyke safe for meeting a concert buddy?
Alyke is designed to make meeting new friends feel safer: every member verifies their phone number and photos, verified profiles show a badge, and profiles show only a state, never an exact location. You also chat before you meet, starting with the comment that connected you. For the show itself, meet for food before doors open and buy your own ticket, so you never depend on someone you've just met.
Sources
- Dartmouth News. Your brain reveals who your friends are, 30 Jan 2018, on Parkinson, Kleinbaum and Wheatley, Nature Communications.
- YouGov. Capturing videos to dodging objects: understanding the behavior of American concertgoers, 30 Aug 2023.
- National Endowment for the Arts. Surprising findings in three new NEA reports on the arts, 12 Jan 2015. Data from 2012.
- Sofar Sounds help center. What's the seating like at a Sofar show? and When will I receive the venue address?
- Record Store Day. About us.
- HeadCount. Volunteer.
