8 reasons why I stan small artists, and you should too
all the perks, from affordable ticket prices to meet 'n greets
These are a collection of exciting experiences I’ve had across a variety of small artists who I am a fan of. You could experience these too if you follow along with me on this journey of finding amazing up-and-coming artists to listen to!
1. Affordable concert ticket prices
Who doesn’t want to save money? I love that I can go to 5 small concerts for less than the price of one stadium or arena concert!
2. Ease of getting concert tickets
No fighting a Ticketmaster war to see an artist live? Sign me up.
3. Intimate concerts
What do you mean I’m close enough to actually see their facial expressions with MY OWN EYES! amazing. showstopping. incredible.
4. Free meet and greets after the show
This one speaks for itself.
In particular, if you’re going to a small show, often the opener will come out afterwards to meet fans! If you’re lucky and it’s a tiny venue, the headliner might come out too (it’s happened to me once, so it’s possible).
5. The artist likes your concert post after the show
This happened to me for Sadie Jean, Sydney Rose, and Abby Powledge. Gosh, the rush of serotonin when you get the notification that they’ve interacted with your post is like nothing else.
Confession: sometimes I live for the hope of it all and change my Instagram account settings from private to public when I post a concert story and tag the artist, just in case…
6. Signed physical music or signed poster
Often, up-and-coming artists will have signed physical vinyls/CDs or posters at their shows available for sale. Or, if you get to meet them, you can get yours personally signed! I’ve been lucky enough to get items personally signed for me twice 🫶
7. A tight-knit community of fans = opportunity to make friends!
One of the major benefits of being a fan of an emerging artist is that the fanbase is smaller and closer, which makes it easy to make friends with others who already have a common interest with you - liking that artist’s music! I have made more friends at small concerts than I have at any big concerts I’ve been to. Possibly because at big concerts people tend to already have friends who like the artist, but at small concerts people are looking for more friends who also like that artist? I don’t know what it is, but at the intimate concerts I’ve been to, people are always friendly and happy to make a new friend.
8. Free virtual performances and Q&As with the artist!
Okay, this is so cool. Just this past week, I attended 2 artist Zooms (Grace Enger’s and Devon Gabriella’s - don’t worry if you don’t know who Devon is yet, I’ll include her as a spotlight soon!). See pics below for proof!! It was so fun since they sang some songs too, so it was like a Zoom concert. I especially enjoyed it because I haven’t gotten to see either of them live yet.
Speaking of Grace, that reminds me that some really talented artists that I’ve talked about on here actually have their own substacks!! Songwriters who love to write, what a coincidence!
Anyways, if you like their music and would like to read their writing, check them out below:
- Grace Enger, who I introduced in the artist spotlight of my very first Substack post.word vomit by alessi rose - Alessi Rose, who I introduced in the artist spotlight of this post on my top albums of 2024 ranking.
- Jensen McRae, who I introduced in the artist spotlight of this post on the must-see tours of 2025.Those are all of the ones that I’ve found, but let me know in the comments or by email reply if you know any other artist Substackers that I should check out!
Finally, as a bonus reason: to support emerging artists and help them find success! They are often so grateful for every single fan they have who streams their music, buys their merch, and comes to their shows. Each of these actions helps them grow as an artist and helps them get closer to every artist’s dream of selling out a stadium or winning a grammy 🥹
With all of that in mind, let’s move on to this week’s up-and-coming artist spotlight :)
Artist Spotlight
This week’s emerging artist is a perfect fit for a mid-July post. Read on to see why!
Elle Coves
If you like: Lorde, Taylor Swift
Elle makes the music to soundtrack the moment where you’re driving with the windows down in the summer with your friends, making core memories without a care in the world
Case in point: this whole song, but particularly: “'Cause it feels like summer when we’re with each other” - Summer by Elle Coves
Listen to: Before I Fall Apart (my fave), Tightrope, Peace (new release)
EP to start with: Selfishly Inclined
Song of the Week
Here, I highlight my favourite song recently and why you should listen to it (if you haven’t yet).
Fuck Me Eyes by Ethel Cain
Fave lyric: they all want to take her out, but no one ever wants to take her home
Excuse the language in the title, but don’t let that affect your judgment of the song before listening. This song is like if Preachers Daughter by Ethel Cain had a baby with 1989 by Taylor Swift. Needless to say, the production on this track is so well done!!! And it’s self-produced by Ethel Cain, too!
I never preorder physical copies of music before an album comes out, but this time I am actually considering preordering a CD of Ethel’s new album for this song alone.
Here’s a lil playlist with these songs for you:
Enjoy!!