Honolulu, HI

I lived in Las Vegas the past two years and there is one thing I’ve realized that is better than the gambling there – and that is their amazing concert line-up. Bands brush through Vegas nightly like wildfire and while I’ve seen big names such as The Police, Celine Dion and Sir Elton John, nothing compares to the good times I’ve spent sitting on the lawn at the Waikiki Shell, celebrating life and good music with thousands of other people who feel the same way.

Concerts don’t come around to Hawaii very often, so it’s good to keep a keen eye on them. My favorite thing to do once every two or three weeks is to check on-line to see if there are any concerts going on. Or, listening to any of the local radio stations is another great way to find out if there are any that are going to be held in the near future. Listening to the radio was the way I found out about the latest concert I went to at “The Shell” and that was Band Camp 6 featuring 311 and Jason Mraz. Other ways of finding out are from fliers they stick on walls or even by word of mouth. This island is so small; it’s only a matter of days before everyone knows!

There are concerts that are held annually at “The Shell” and those are usually the most fun. There is KCCN FM100’s Birthday Bash (if you want to hear the best Hawaiian/Reggae singers), Jack Johnson’s Kokua Festival (the best concert that also helps raise environmental awareness) and Star 101.9’s Band Camp (a great alternative rock concert). Thousands of people show up to those events and the atmosphere is perfect when the crowds are huge.

If you’re going to a concert at “The Shell”, try to get there early to find good parking. Try not to park in the metered stalls, because it’s easy to get a parking ticket that way. There are some flat rate parking garages in Waikiki, but the best things to do are to park along the street somewhere or get dropped off. Also, bring some cash with you. The vendors there take cash only and the ATM machines inside make you pay an exorbitant fee to withdraw money. And it is $7.75 for a beer, so if you want to wait until after the concert, Waikiki is only a quarter of a mile away, so eating at a restaurant or going to a bar afterwards is not out of the question.

While my two years of living in Vegas had me seeing big name concerts on a regular basis, nothing seems to tug at my heart strings more than chilling out on a breezy Saturday night, the moon slowly creeping up behind Diamond Head in the distance and friends and strangers alike who all have come out to experience something beautiful together – music.