My Favorite Concert Buddy
Though I love my dream job on the airwaves, I just don’t feel like doing my radio shift today.
Why, you ask?
Because of My Concert Buddy
I spent last evening at yet another Billy Joel concert with my oldest daughter, Annie. We took that long, pre-dawn ride down the NJ Transit Coastline because there was no way we were going to leave early before the encore!
“We don’t have a second house, boats, or classic cars, hon, this is our thing,” my persuasive salesperson of a husband Mike pitches as he clicks another batch of tickets into the online shopping cart. He’s 100% right: concerts are our thing, and we’ve passed that love of music down to our daughters as well.
Whereas my youngest daughter adds another modern “club banger” on her playlist, it is Annie who is our concert buddy as we revisit the live music experiences of our youth.
I remember the joy that filled her eyes as she listened intently to the melodies of the Beatles as a toddler, and her laughter still echoes in my empty nest. When Mike would blast “Yellow Submarine,” in the car she would giggle and chant with the Fab Four.
At a very early age she was lost in the magic of music’s embrace. She tells everyone who will listen today that the best moment of her young life came when Paul McCartney invited Bruce Springsteen up on his MetLife Stadium stage to jam on the eve of the Beatle’s 80th birthday.
LISTEN NOW: New Billy Joel Song – “Turn The Lights Back On”
Our mother-daughter connection deepens as we embark on each live concert adventure, immersing ourselves in the electrifying energy of the stage. The thrill of anticipation, the palpable excitement as the lights dim and the first chords reverberate through the crowd. We still say to each other, “Can you believe we are breathing the same air as our musical heroes?”
As she grew older, Annie’s tastes evolved, guided by the timeless classics of Elton John, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen. She rifled through our old vinyl collection recently as she installed her stereo setup in her new Hoboken apartment.
Billy Joel – THE FINAL MSG SHOW
Pulling an all-nighter at a concert with Annie and then “putting on my big girl pants” to go to work the next day is a hurt that’s worth it, and I look forward to punishing myself like this again during this busy summer shore concert season. And yes, Annie and I were on a mad text chain as we successfully secured Sea. Hear. Now tickets to see The Boss on the Asbury boardwalk this September!
As she branches off on her own path, I find comfort in the knowledge that the melodies we’ve shared will forever connect our hearts with a shared soundtrack of sounds and concert experiences.
I am so thankful for the gift of music, for the gift of love, for the gift of shared experiences at concerts, and for the gift of a family whose presence fills my life with endless beauty and love.