10/08/2026
There’s a reason everyone loves being able to say, “I saw them before they got big.”
There’s something special about finding an artist when they’re still playing the smaller stage, going to a festival in its first couple of years, or taking a chance on an event you don’t know much about yet.
Not everything is going to become the next huge thing. That’s part of the fun.
But every artist headlining festivals right now was an opener at some point. Every festival people travel across the country for had a year one. And a lot of the things we consider staples now only got there because people were willing to give them a shot early.
So go see the opener. Buy a ticket to the new festival. Check out the free show. Bring a friend to something neither of you have heard of before.
Worst case, you tried something new.
Best case, a few years from now you get to be the annoying person who says, “I was there before everyone knew about it.”
