Erin O'Donnell

June 22nd, 2021

45 Tattoos to Get You Excited About the Return of Live Music

Tattoos for those about to rock

I know it’s cliché, but music is my life. I sang in choir throughout middle and high school, getting solos in classics, such as “Don’t Stop Believing” in seventh grade and three separate times having the solo for “Let It Be” for our end-of-year choir concerts, including getting the final solo my senior year. I don’t know what it is about choir teachers in Texas, but they love doing The Beatles medley at the end of the year, and I don’t blame them one bit. My choir days are long over, but shortly before everything shut down last year, I was getting back into the swing of performing by rocking out a few days a week at my favorite karaoke bar. And let me tell you, being on stage felt like I was on top of the world, and getting a free drink every once in a while wasn’t bad either.

For the last year, live concerts were a sacrifice we had to make to combat the spread of COVID. No more standing next to sweaty strangers and screaming your head off to your favorite songs. We gave that up for sweat pants and blasting our favorite albums on Spotify while dreaming of all the shows we missed. However, with the recent announcement that 70 percent of New York State is vaccinated, lifted restrictions, and many bands and festivals releasing tour dates, I am pumped to see shows again! The last concert I saw was when Queen performed live in Central Park for the Global Citizens Festival in September 2019. It’s not hyperbole to say that that night changed my life. I finally got to see the band that inspired me and helped me through one of the most brutal years I experienced as my youngest brother died in April 2019 and the grief was still raw. When the show was over, and I had a good cathartic cry once I was hydrated again, I started looking for tattoo artists to commemorate that moment and everything Queen means to me. Two weeks after that concert, I sat down for nearly five hours, not taking one break, and got my first tattoo, the portrait of the band I proudly wear on my arm.

All the artists featured today are musicians who have inspired me in one form or another and who I have or cannot wait to see in concert one day. Whether it’s Hayley Williams of Paramore with her stunning powerhouse vocals, Paul McCartney, and not only his longevity as a performer but his timeless lyrics, or Hozier for just being a beautiful man with beautiful and haunting songs. I would not be who I am without any of these talented artists to guide me. Join us in celebrating the return to live music with these rocking tattoos, and let us know who your favorite musicians are on social media.

Paul McCartney

 

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Florence + The Machine

 

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Queen

 

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Hozier

 

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Paramore

 

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My Chemical Romance

 

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Arcade Fire

 

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Lorde

 

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The Foo Fighters

 

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