What’s Not Allowed in a Concert?

If you’re not a seasoned concert goer, if you just want to see your favorite band in concert once in your lifetime, or you’re just trying out the festival experience for the first time, you’d better prepare a little.

One of the things you should know is that certain things aren’t allowed in most concert venues. Some of these are obvious. Guns, knives and other dangerous weapons are evidently no-go’s - don’t even try to take one in with you. But, then again, why would you?

Illegal drugs are another no brainer. While some festivals are famous (or notorious) for their psychedelics-loving audience, not every venue is that relaxed about drug use. Even the biggest “stoner fests” technically shouldn’t allow any illegal substances - however, at some places, you can most likely get away with it. But if you’re not very experienced with these sorts of dealings, you should probably never take the chance. You are risking a lot more than just not being allowed in the concert, you might even get arrested on the spot.

There are some less obvious forbidden objects. For example, most places don’t let you bring alcoholic drinks to the concert. That’s not necessarily because they want to avoid having a crowd of drunks. They don’t really mind that as long as the crowd is getting drunk off of drinks they sell. So don’t bring any expensive liquor to a concert. It’s likely to be confiscated at the gate and you’ll never see it again. There’s going to be plenty of overpriced drinks to be had at the venue. If you’re a little crafty, you can look up the best ways to sneak booze into a concert online.

Another controversial issue is recording a live concert. This is somewhat different since you are allowed to bring in your phone - however, what you’re allowed to do with it is in question.

Some artists and their team are very lax on this rule, some outright allow it. On the other hand, many enforce it rather rigidly.

In August 2019, for example, comedian Pete Davidson even stopped in the middle of his act to berate audience members for recording him on their phones during a college appearance.

To stick to the music industry, just a month later, in September 2019, legendary pop singer Madonna reportedly banned cell phones altogether at her live performances.

This question isn’t entirely dependent on the artists’ will. It may be a simple licensing issue - the band may have gotten the right to perform the songs live, but not to record them. At any rate, it’s best to get informed on the rules regarding making recordings in the venue before you go to a concert.

You can contact the venue itself. Or, you can simply look at your ticket - the terms of service are often printed on the back. It’s definitely better to do some research than to be surprised by a security guard confiscating a personal object at the gate.