Rockers’ First Concerts

Everybody remembers their first time – their first time at a concert, that is.

And that goes for many of the artists who would later go on to perform first concerts for countless more music fans. For many, their first experience at a live show lit a fire in them, one that would lead them to become stars in their own right.

Sheryl Crow, for example, was 14 years old when she went to her first concert with some friends in 1976. Peter Frampton was then touring behind his enormously successful live album, Frampton Comes Alive! It was, Crow would later describe in 2023, a life-changing moment for her.

“I got to sing along with tens of thousands of strangers to ‘Do You Feel Like I Do?'” she said. “And who doesn’t dream of that being your life after you’ve experienced it?”

Les Claypool, as another example, was already trying his hand at being a musician by the time he saw his first concert: Rush during their Hemispheres tour. The future Primus founder was also 14 years old at the time.

“Geddy [Lee] was my hero,” he told UCR in 2022. “I just completely had my mind blown, watching the Rocinante [spaceship] fly through the black hole of Cygnus. It was incredibly epic.”

We’re taking a look at the first concerts of various rock artists below. Some make a whole lot of sense, others might surprise you…