Jaqueline Bravo

Juan Pablo searches up The Weeknd who he saw over the summer.

Almost half of Morton East students attended a concert this summer, survey says.

According to a recent survey, nearly half of the students at Morton East High School attended a concert this past summer.

Google’s AI Overview reports that concert ticket prices have been rising substantially. For example, Taylor Swift made $2 billion from her recent Eras tour. Despite the rising costs, some artists are making efforts to keep “get-in” prices more affordable, even as front-row seats continue to trend higher in price.

About one-third of Gen Z (31%) have attended music festivals with their parents in the past year. Locally, a June 2025 report from Route Note also found that Gen Z women attend more concerts and festivals more often than men. Meanwhile, 5% of the general U.S. population attended a music concert in the past 12 months.

According to event promoter Live Nation, 145 million fans attended their events globally, which included over 50,000 concerts and shows—many of which took place during the summer. Google’s AI Overview also highlighted the Summerfest Music Festival in Milwaukee as one of the largest summer concerts, spanning three weekends. Other major events included Lady Gaga’s stadium tour and the Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash Festival in Bridgeview, Illinois, which attracted large crowds for headliners like Don Toliver and Future.

At Morton East, a random survey of 105 students revealed that 45 students (or 43%) attended a concert over the summer.

Senior Nancy Perez shared her experience attending a classic rock concert.

“I went to see KISS at Allstate Arena. It was three hours long,” said senior Nancy Perez.

Junior Allison Diaz also enjoyed a concert experience.

“I went to see The Weeknd. It was around 2 ½ hours long at Soldier Field. I went because I like his music,” said junior Allison Diaz.

Senior Max Leanos added that he also attended a summer concert.

“I went to see Junior H in Tinley Park for three hours straight—and I had free tickets,” said senior Max Leanos.