The Unifying Sense of Music – Sunday Tête-à-Tête

Hello friends, I hope you are having a relaxing Sunday.

Today I want to talk about the unifying sense of music. How has music brought you together with others? Have you made friends while at a concert or do you have any memories from a gig you shared with people that stands out in your mind?

I thought about this subject while walking through Portobello Market here in London a couple of weeks ago, the day after Adele’s new single had been released. One of the stalls played ‘Hello’ and her song radiated through the gray fall day with people streaming in either direction most of which were tourists, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Music is a deeply personal element of each one of our lives, and a persons taste really can’t be defined as good or bad in anyone else’s eyes, because pieces of who we are are weaved into  moments with music. Memories of first loves, connections with strangers are etched into our psyches through the power of a tune. The way a beat can ripple through our bones is unlike anything else on earth.

Joined together, Paris/Pier concert, New York/Intimate gig, London

There is something so incredibly powerful about music’s ability to be present in a way another human cannot be all the while connecting us to others. Putting on a sad playlist to wallow when needed can at times do more for the soul then any amount of talking over our complicated emotions with someone. And for a time the artists make us feel like they understand us better then anyone we know.

Being present in the crowd as voices are joined together in unison to the lyrics of an artist gives me more of a sense of being alive then anything else. The beautiful scene of Lollapalooza reminded me of this, this past summer when I danced with countless strangers to Hot Chip with the warm sun overheard and the skyline of Chicago behind the stage. Life felt free and beautiful and for one moment in time all of us were united by this band.

Blurry memories, Auckland/Sunday afternoon, Chicago/United in the dark, Chicago

And then there’s the memory of the night I inadvertently ended up at a concert alone.  Making friends with the first arrivals outside the doors, we rushed in together and made sure our spot up the front didn’t change all night. We fought with joined arms for that place in the audience to dance and sing along to this band we cared passionately enough about to buy tickets and see.

Really, music is something I could spend hours talking about and reminiscing on because, it has been such a huge part of my life, but its ability to stop time and bring strangers together seems like a good enough place to have an easy conversation on a Sunday morning. I’d love to hear how music has united you with others in the comments below.

The skyline of Chicago behind a stage/Street performers crowd, Prague