AC Contributor's Tell Us About Their Favorite Concerts

I love music. I believe that music can change a person's perspective and that a special song can brighten your outlook on life. I enjoy attending concerts to see my favorite bands live. It's refreshing when the band or singers sound just as good as or better in person than they do on the radio. I asked some of my fellow Associated Content writers what their favorite concert was and why, and got a variety of answers. I appreciate their responses and thought I would share them with you.

For me, trying to pick my one favorite concert is very difficult. I have seen so many great groups and missed out on seeing many others. I love a Melissa Etheridge concert and seeing The Police on their Synchronicity Tour was incredible. However, my all-time favorite concert is still the concert I saw at Ratcliffe Stadium in Fresno, California in the summer of 1983. 13 years later, Ratcliffe would become the stadium I was in while I suffered through physical training in the police academy.

The headliner in the '83 concert was Journey and the others on the tour were Eddie Money and Bryan Adams. Journey's Frontiers Tour absolutely rocked! I won four tickets to the concert and I was only 13 years old. Eddie Money and Bryan Adams were awesome but Journey was why I was there. I made my way to the front of the crowd to see Steve Perry belt out all their hits and his incredible voice gave me chills. It's my opinion that Journey (with Steve Perry) was one of the best bands ever. I met Steve Perry years later, and I still got chills.

AC Contributor's Favorite Concerts

"My favorite concert experience was actually a Walmart concert many years ago. It was my favorite because though I had to stand in line for quite a while, I got to meet Mark Chestnut and Rick Trevino. They were both incredibly nice and the music had been awesome."- Amy Brantley

"My favorite concert was 'U2 - The Joshua Tree' in the late 80's. I went with a bunch of girlfriends from high school and we had a blast! When I hear U2 songs now they always bring good memories of that concert and good times in 'the good old days'." -Anna Sanclement

"Madonna, Blond Ambition Tour (1990), Confessions Tour (2006), Sticky and Sweet Tour (2008/09) - Madonna's one of my favorite artists and I've seen her live many times. Anyone who's ever seen her documentary "Truth or Dare" knows that her concerts are very visually entertaining. She presents her concerts as a series of vignettes, with the several songs strung together around a theme. The music masterfully complements the visual and the result is entertainment at its best." -John Myers

"My favorite concert I ever attended was a Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn show in Charlotte N.C. back in the 80's. I did enjoy country music back then and was a big fan of Conway and was glad to see him live. But the biggest reason it was my favorite concert ever was that my aunt Donna took me to it. I was 14 or 15 and she was around 20 or so and it was a big deal for me to hang out with her. The fact that she died a couple of years after that makes it even more special to me. It was the last concert we ever went to together." -Randy Lee Inman

"Out of all the concerts I've been to the best and most memorable for me was Woodstock '99. I saw George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars, Everclear, Rage Against the Machine, Live, Korn and Bush. There were a bunch of other bands too. It was an amazing time. We left right before the rioting began when Red Hot Chili Peppers went on. The best part was the atmosphere of friends and strangers coming together in friendship at least up until people went crazy. The worst part was walking from one stage to the other in crazy hot weather. Another awesome thing about that concert was my significant other. We went together as friends and came home something a little more. We've been together ever since and now have two kids." -Linda L. StCyr

"My favorite concert ever was Alice Cooper at Sam's Town Casino in Tunica, MS. This was during his Brutal Planet tour and, while I'd seen Alice once before, I had 8th row seats for this show. Alice is an amazing artist and the ultimate showman and he put on a show I can never forget. Not only was the music great and Alice in good form, but the whole "spectacle" of the stage show added a very theatrical element to it." -Chris Griffy

"I have many favorites. Here are just three, and why. 1981 Bruce Springsteen. Hollywood Sportatorium, Hollywood FL. This was the first time I saw Bruce. He played for over 3 hours. He was touring to promote his album, The River. Incredible intensity and incredible performance. 1984 Elvis Costello. Sunrise Musical Theater, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I met Elvis, by chance before the show at his tour bus, shook his hand, was speechless. Myself and friends had third row center tickets. Elvis played all my favorites and performed an incredible show. 1985 U2. Hollywood Sportatorium, Hollywood, FL. I sat on the side of the stage and had a conversation with bassist, Adam Clayton, and enjoyed U2 up close in all their splendor. One month later, they played at Live Aid in London." -James Ford