Favorite Legitimately Free Concert That You Attended

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by MYQ1, Feb 21, 2021.

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  1. Zbriscoe1

    Zbriscoe1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    jacksonville, nc
    For a good decade in downtown Orlando (06-16) they did consistent free live shows a few times a year outside city hall. I saw countless amazing shows its hard to pick.

    Among the best

    George Thorogood
    Joe Cocker
    Joan Jett
    Cheap Trick
    Sugar Ray ( believe it or not !)
     
  2. vamborules

    vamborules Forum Resident

    Location:
    CT
    When I lived in Seattle I was walking distance from the Seattle Center and used to go to stuff there all the time. Pain in the Grass and all of that. I can't think of any shows that stand out just that experience in general I really enjoyed.
     
  3. rfkavanagh

    rfkavanagh Unashamedly Pop!

    Location:
    New York
    Not for everyone, to be sure, but...

    Céline Dion celebrating the 400th anniversary of Québec with a free concert to 250k spectators on the Plains of Abraham in Québec City in 2008. Since it was a celebration of Québec, she also included many Québecois artists as special guests: Garou, Marc Dupré, Nanette Workman, Dan Bigras, Mes Aïeux, Zachary Richard, Éric LaPointe, Claude Dubois, Jean-Pierre Ferland, and Ginette Reno. The concert lasted three hours in total and was a great celebration. Thankfully, I got relatively close to the stage - I can't imagine the point of going for the people at the back of a crowd of 250k.
     
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  4. kt66brooklyn

    kt66brooklyn Senior Member

    Location:
    brooklyn, ny
    Andrew Hill, Lincoln Center. Jackie McLean, Jazzmobile. Both NYC.
     
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  5. LarsO

    LarsO Forum Resident

    a-ha Frognerparken, Oslo 2005. Norway’s biggest concert ever. More than 100000 people:

     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2021
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  6. daveidmarx

    daveidmarx Forem Residunt

    Location:
    Astoria, NY USA
    Paul McCartney at Grand Central in NYC on September 7, 2018 (release date of Egypt Station). About 300 in the audience and somehow I was all the way up front, about five feet from Paul.
     
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  7. rfkavanagh

    rfkavanagh Unashamedly Pop!

    Location:
    New York
    Jealous. Did you make it the Unplugged concert, too?
     
  8. Jack_Straw

    Jack_Straw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wichita, KS
    Summer of 2007, Toumani Diabate and opening act Vieux Farka Toure at Millenium Park in Chicago. My wife and I were on vacation and staying a couple blocks away. It was our first day in the city - we had just checked into the hotel and decided to take a stroll down by the lake and see the new park (it was our first time there since Millenium Park had opened). We didn’t even know about the show. Apparently they do a free concert series there during the summers, but we didn’t know anything about it, and it was mid afternoon on a weekday, so we certainly weren’t expecting anything big to be happening. Our plan was just to check out the lakefront and catch a quick look at “The Bean” sculpture and the rest of the park, then grab some dinner. Anyway, we saw an unusual number of people milling around where the bandshell and amphitheater was, so we figured something was up. Started to hear the opening notes of Vieux’s set and it drew us in. I wasn’t too familiar with African music at the time, so it was a real treat to hear the electric, rhythmic set by Toure (who - by the way - is the son of the well known Ali Farka Toure, who had just died a short time prior to this). The sound of Toumani’s kora in the main set was fresh and new and exotic and sounded like it was sent from the heavens. I had never heard anything like it, and it opened my eyes to a whole new genre of music. We stayed for the entire set, and it was a beautiful afternoon and a great way to start our Chicago visit.
     
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  9. anth67

    anth67 Purveyor of Hogwash

    Location:
    PNW USA
    Deep Purple classic lineup, Hammerjacks, Baltimore 1988. Surprise warm-up show at a tiny venue, really cool to see them up close and personal. (Had to use a borrowed fake ID to get in, as I was still a few months shy of 21. Happened upon a friend near the front of a line around the block, assuring a prime spot on the floor...and good company. Life spoils us sometimes.)

    runners-up:

    John Hartford, Artscape festival, Baltimore 1985-ish. Didn't know who he was going in. But he was a charmer, reeled this classic rock kid right in. Blankets on the grass.

    New Grass Revival, later 80's, Oregon Ridge Park, Maryland. Blankets on the grass. They came several years in a row.
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2021
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  10. Billchi_11

    Billchi_11 What would DBoon do?

    Location:
    Chicago
    Bob Mould and Aimee Mann, both in Grant Park, Chicago, and the Grifters at two different in-stores in one day!
     
  11. Valkenburg

    Valkenburg Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hawaii
    The first few Sunshine Festivals held in Diamond Head Crater on New Year's Day (starting in 1969, I think) were free. It was so long ago that I can't remember most of the acts. The music went from sunrise to sundown so there were dozens of acts each year. The ones I remember for sure are Santana, Steve Miller Band, Linda Ronstadt & Buddy Miles.

     
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  12. LarsO

    LarsO Forum Resident

    No. And I think that one was far from free.
     
  13. anth67

    anth67 Purveyor of Hogwash

    Location:
    PNW USA
    I attended an outdoor (free) Sky Cries Mary show circa '94 or '95 with friends who had their cd. Yes, it's the overall vibe that I remember most fondly, having recently moved to PNW and the spirit of that. Carefree summer day.
     
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  14. Driver8

    Driver8 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maine
    Bruce Hornsby and the Range - I went expecting an hour or so for the concert. They played for 2.5 amazing hours....
     
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  15. David G.

    David G. Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Probably Jean-Michel Jarre's Rendez-vous Houston in 1986, where the entire skyline of downtown Houston was used as the "stage" for the show. It wasn't so much for the music (for me), but more for the spectacle of it all. Something like 1.5 million people all around the city were standing outside to watch, listening to the music being broadcast on the radio (if you weren't close enough to the actual stage).
     
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  16. AlmostHeavenWV

    AlmostHeavenWV The poster formerly known as AlmostHeavenWV

    Location:
    Lancaster UK
    The 40th anniversary Summer of Love concert in Golden Gate Park, S.F. in 2007.

    Barry Melton
    Taj Mahal
    Lester Chambers
    Moby Grape
    Jerry Miller Band with David Laflamme
    Country Joe McDonald
    Brian Auger
    Jefferson Starship (who were introduced as Jefferson Airplane)
     
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  17. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    I was attending an art fair back some years ago in Scottsdale when I heard music coming from a tent across the way. I walked over and sat down and enjoyed listening to Maria Muldaur.
     
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  18. spotlightkid

    spotlightkid Senior Member

    Neil Young & Crazy Horse Greendale.

    Someone gave me a 10th row seat.

    Amazing.

    I knew gong in he was gonna play Greendale but some fans booed and wanted the hits and he played a few as the encore.

    His guitar playing was fantastic at this show!
     
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  19. Stencil

    Stencil Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lockport, IL
    Flaming Lips at Taste of Chicago 2018. Amazing show.
     
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  20. juss100

    juss100 Forum Resident

    Location:
    London
    Not many but I saw Andrew Bird at Rough Trade records recently. A very small intimate crowd of around 30-50 people crammed in this tiny room. I don't really know his stuff but it was pretty cool.
     
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  21. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    I've seen hundreds. Among the coolest:
    P-Funk All Stars (2x)
    Earth Wind & Fire (with Maurice)
    Beach Boys (still with Carl and with guest Jimmy Page)
    Rolling Stones
    Weir & Wasserman/Peter Paul & Mary/Bill Monroe/Elvin Jones
    SNL rehearsals by Neil Young and AC/DC (and about 50 others)
     
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  22. carlwm

    carlwm Forum Resident

    Location:
    wales
    Lindisfarne,one of my top five bands, in 1993.

    I was visiting my home town, popped into a favourite city centre boozer, with my wife, and there was Lindisfarne sat around a table playing cards. I said hello, told them how much I appreciated their music and asked them what they were doing in Swansea. Turned out they were playing a show in the local theatre and were killing time before they were due on-stage. The show was a sell-out but, amazingly, Alan Hull, left his pint, walked across to the venue and persuaded the manager to let us stand at the back of the stalls to watch the show.

    Alan had the reputation of being a bit prickly but I'll never forget his kindness that day. :)
     
  23. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Dashboard Confessional at The Hatch Shell, Boston 9/7/2002
    Opening band Hod Rod Circuit.

    Packed in a car with a bunch of friends we went from NY to Boston and back...amazing show and a great time.
     
  24. wrat

    wrat Forum Resident

    Location:
    29671
    only totally free show was String Cheese Incident in Jacksonville around 96ish maybe..

    escorted in by local road crew Page/Plant Miami 98

    Guest list due to relative/work connections Weir/Wasserman Stowe Vt, funny thing about this show is I dont think there are circulating tapes
     
  25. Jerquee

    Jerquee Take this, brother, may it serve you well.

    Location:
    New York
    AC//DC at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC, 2003.

    Heaven.
     
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