The summer concert season is in full swing for students. Summer concerts close to home can be the most anticipated part of students’ summer.

“Going to the concerts is so much fun becauses I always find a bunch of people I know and it doesn’t even matter if we’re not friends,” Caroline Sapp, freshman, said.

Country concerts are possibly the most anticipated concerts of the summer. Students have given summer the nickname “country season.”

The country portion of the lineup for this summer includes Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney and Old Dominion, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, and Jason Aldean. The country concerts at Jiffy Lube have always been a huge success in providing safe activities for high school students to participate.

“I went to Jason Aldean last year and I had so much fun, there were a lot of people I didn’t know, but we were friends by the end of the night,” Claire Walker, sophomore, said.

Students have expressed the spell that comes over them at a summer concert. The vastness of students from a variety of schools allows for conversations with people with very different backgrounds.

“I talked to so many people last year at the country concerts, I was surprised by how many different schools people came from and how friendly everyone was,” Jill Bennett, junior, said.

Going to summer concerts is a great opportunity for students to meet new people outside of school. Concerts of any type are a good opportunity for kids to meet new people and form new relationships.

“I met a bunch of new people from Battlefield and Patriot at a concert last year, it’s crazy to think I never would have met them if I hadn’t gone,” Ally Nester, freshman, said.

Students have only had good things to say about the experience of summer concerts.

“I think it’s a really good experience and just an overall amazing time,” Walker said.

This summer, Capital One Arena features Childish Gambino with Rae Sremmurd, Sam Smith, and Harry Styles. Last summer Capital One Arena hosted rapper J. Cole on his 4 Your Eyez Only tour. The concert and the arena have received excellent reviews in the past.

“I enjoyed the J. Cole concert a lot, the setup and acoustics were nice, and it sounded pretty good,” Drew Tapscott, sophomore, said.

The Vans Warped Tour is on it’s final cross-country run this summer, where it will be held at the Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater in Virginia Beach on July 12 and at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland in July. The Maryland location is a closer drive for students wanting to check out the show. This year’s lineup includes 30H!3, All Time Low, Black Veil Brides, Bowling for Soup and many more pop punk and alternative rock artists.

“I have been going to Warped since 2016 and it has been something I have looked forward to every summer since,” Emma Gray, sophomore, said. “It’s just an amazing place to go and enjoy rock and alternative music. No one really cares about who you are and where you come from–it’s all about everyone’s love for music and having a great time.”

“My friends and I are all going to see Taylor Swift together at Fedex Field in Maryland, and we’re all super excited,” Amanda Deliee, sophomore, said. “I think having fun at concerts is more about who you’re with than about what the music is.