A concert is a performance in which many musicians play music together for an audience. Concerts can take place in a hall specially built for the purpose, or they can be held in other large buildings such as schools, nightclubs, or castles. Music is usually amplified for the audience so that they can hear it clearly. Sometimes, concerts have a visual element, such as lights or video projections. If a story is being acted out to go along with the music, this is called musical theater or opera. Some concerts are given by a single musician, in which case it is called a recital.
Some musicians, especially those in classical music, make a career of giving concerts. They may do so regularly, traveling from town to town in a concert tour, and giving many performances each year. For the musicians, it is a way of achieving celebrity status and a source of income. Some concerts are held in the open air, such as on a hill overlooking a city or in a stadium. Other concerts are in smaller venues such as a private home, or even in the back room of a restaurant.
Many types of music are performed at a concert, from classical to pop to rock. Some musicians, like the Rolling Stones, have a huge following that follows them from one concert to the next. Others, such as the Beatles, had a smaller following but still sold out many concerts.
Musicians often use their concerts to promote themselves and their recordings, or to draw attention to social issues or causes. Some concerts are educational, introducing audiences to different musical traditions. Others, such as the Bob Marley concerts in the 1980s, were political in nature and drew huge crowds.
One of the most important aspects of a concert is the relationship between the musicians and the audience. This includes the seating arrangements, ritualized behavior of the audience, acoustics and lighting of the hall, and the dramaturgy of the program. The interaction of these elements is what makes a concert an aesthetic experience.
A concert is also a space for confronting different times and historical contexts. This can be done either by discerning historical links between works such as heritages or genealogies, obvious borrowings, or formal similarities, or by encouraging transhistorical encounters that only the concert can provoke.
Finally, the concert is a social space for encountering a variety of personalities and attitudes. For example, a U2 concert could be seen as a reaction to the numbing cacophony of cable news coverage during the Gulf War, or a protest against globalization. A concert can be an event for making friendships among audience members, and it can also be a chance for musicians to meet their fans. This can result in some of the most enduring relationships in musical history.