Unplugged with Lauren Topp: How her love for concerts grew from her father’s passion

While most people are attending their first concert during their teenage years, senior Lauren Topp has already been to over 20 concerts by the age of 17. She has been a fan of concerts from a young age, thanks to her dad’s love for live music. His passion influenced Topp, who began attending concerts alongside her father early on in life.

“My dad has always been super into music and concerts. He’s always gone to a lot of concerts and really likes seeing live music, so I started going at a younger age to little concerts and grew to enjoy it,” Topp said.

She chose her words slowly as she recounted attending her first concert at the age of six with her father and the rest of her family. This concert sparked her love of live music that would continue to grow throughout the years.

“It was at Alpine Valley up in Wisconsin. I was with my whole family; my mom, my dad, my sister and my brother, and we saw Jack Johnson. I always listened to Jack Johnson when I was little, and my dad really likes Jack Johnson, so it was really fun and memorable,” Topp said.

Topp’s tone brightened as she goes on to explain how concerts’ exciting environments give her the opportunity to have fun while being surrounded by her loved ones.

“I just really like the whole experience of seeing live singers, especially when you know their music… it’s just really fun to sing along and hear all your favorite songs live, especially when you are with your friends and family,” Topp said.

As she elaborated on her concert experiences, she shared her favorite type of concert to frequent.

“Honestly, [my favorite singer is] probably Taylor Swift because I literally know all of her songs… I have been to three Taylor Swift concerts. She’s my favorite singer, so that was always fun and exciting,” Topp said.

Topp’s love for concerts has grown and allowed her to establish independence from her family. Although going to these events started as a family affair, she has now begun the process of purchasing tickets on her own with the intent of attending concerts with people outside of her immediate household.

“Honestly, I think the first time I purchased my own ticket was Lollapalooza [2021] because my parents always gave me tickets to Taylor Swift for events like Christmas and my birthday. I went to a lot of concerts with my family and my dad growing up that were paid for by them,” Topp said.

Topp plans to attend the Harry Styles concert on Nov. 3 in Milwaukee.