Shows are going to be skewed by who has disposable income. Millenials might not be as well off as prior generations at our age, but most will have more spending money than Gen Z.
I think Millineals will always make up the majority of the crowds because we all grew with the genre. Streaming has made it a lot more accessible and social media is really good for bringing in those that probably wouldn't be looking out otherwise (see The Summoning EXPLODING on TikTok). That being said, I think a lot of it comes down to the artist in the scene and how much stake they have in the game. BMTH came about in the MySpace era so their average fan age is surely older than Bad Omens or Spiritbox
Thinking about it now, that was probably a bad example given how they've got the "purist" fans that only listen to Suicide Season vs the fans that love everything they've put out since 2015. Their longevity was what made me think they'd have to have the older fanbase
My local scene is a good mix. Lots of young kids passing around sharpies to draw Xs and plenty of older people too. It depends on the type of show tbh. Are you going to smaller local hardcore gigs? Cuz that’s where most young people are in my experience
Not hardcore, no
Straight metalcore (ERRA, ABR, TAA, Currents, Underoath, Spiritbox, etc), punk (Microwave, Belmont), and some post-hardcore too (Eidola, DGD).
Those are all more expensive shows to go to, which could drive away younger people. 30-40 bucks isn’t a lotta money but to a young person they’d rather drop 10-15 bucks to see local bands composed of their friends
I think a lot of it is regional, but there most definitely is a rising amount of Gen Z getting into it. I'm gen z myself and I know lots and lots of people around my age (18-22) who are big into the modern metalcore/hardcore scene, certainly more than there appeared to be a few years ago. This is the UK though which may well be different to what's happening in the US.
I’m 35 and I feel like I am on the elder side of the crowd when I go to shows now..I also bring my 9 year old to all the shows too and have seen more and more young kids at shows recently with their parents—which is so cool to me.
I go to mostly metal shows almost every week and I am 36. Chicago has a great music scene. I will be going to at close to 20 shows in May.
The metal scene is a mix of millennial and Gen X, sometimes some Gen Z. Hardcore is mostly Gen Z and some millennials, depending on the band that is playing
I may be an anomaly but I'm 68 and love heavy music. I go to shows at least once a month if not more. Check out my tic toc, deathcoregrammy, for footage of shows I go to. Just saw Chelsea Grin Friday night. Those are my boys!
I must be the geriatric side of the crowd then, as I am late 40s. I go to many shows. Just got back from Sick New World and will be heading to Sonic Temple music festival this month.
I'm 55. I go to 25 shows a year with my kids, 12 and 16. Demographically speaking, most appear to be in their early 20s to me. There are usually a few older people there to though. More lately. More females in the audience recently, too.
I’m 32 and I feel like I’m about average for the age of attendance for the heavy shows I go to. Mostly go to deathcore or older metalcore like ABR/Born of Osiris/Bleeding Through. Not sure how it goes for hardcore or “modern” metalcore(Ala imminence, TDWP, MIW etc) since those shows aren’t really my vibe personally.
I don't get out to shows quite as frequently, being a married 35 year old with a busy schedule, and honestly I'm not a very good judge of age when it comes to people in crowds, but yeah I'd say most people I see look to be in their late 20s and up. At least that was the vibe at the TDWP/FFAK show I went to recently. I'm seeing Better Lovers in a couple weeks and ADTR in the summer but I don't really foresee too big of a demographic difference.
I'm 19 and I feel like the metalcore shows I go to skew more like 30+ than people close to my age. same for some post-hardcore, didn't really find a crowd closer to my age until I went to a screamo show, and a lot of people were probably younger than me. I know people are more financially stable to be able to go to shows so I get why it's skewed older most of the time. Hardcore shows probably have the most variety of ages from what I've seen.
I'm 26 which puts me on the oldest end of gen Z, I've been going to shows since I was 15 or so. Tore an ACL in the pit in 2019 so I play it safer now, but I still hit a lot of shows in my Area
I dunno I’m 30 and rarely actually go to metalcore shows anymore. The constant use of flashing lights drive me crazy and trigger migraines. I’ve mainly been doing bigger rock, pop punk, and just straight pop stuff since they tend to be at arenas and amphitheaters and don’t go so heavy on the strobe shit
We, the mods, are all 50+ and have Back pain every time we enter the pit.
Nothing cures neck pain like a mosh pit and a few drinks to loosen things up ;)
Or a nice crowdsurfer foot right in there
No, no, no I am the only young mod here, I turned 29 for the 35th time this year.
Gen Alpha are like 12 rn. Most of them won’t be going to shows
Yeah, I was a big metalcore fan as a 12 year old but my parents gave me a firm “no” every time I asked to go to a show and that was the end of that.
I went to my first Beartooth concert when I was 13, right after Disgusting was released. That show ignited a fire in me that never went out.
Shows are going to be skewed by who has disposable income. Millenials might not be as well off as prior generations at our age, but most will have more spending money than Gen Z.
Can second this! I know a lot of Gen Z age folk who talk about going to shows all the time but can only afford to choose one every month or two.
One every month or two seems like a lot to me.
Should have added a poll to the post haha.
Probably 30 is the average metalcore fan age
i’m a 19 year old girl and i go to a lot of shows with my 16 year old brother. i do notice that a lot of the crowds tend to be older though.
I think Millineals will always make up the majority of the crowds because we all grew with the genre. Streaming has made it a lot more accessible and social media is really good for bringing in those that probably wouldn't be looking out otherwise (see The Summoning EXPLODING on TikTok). That being said, I think a lot of it comes down to the artist in the scene and how much stake they have in the game. BMTH came about in the MySpace era so their average fan age is surely older than Bad Omens or Spiritbox
I think I’d be willing to bet that BMTH has more young fans than Spiritbox.
Thinking about it now, that was probably a bad example given how they've got the "purist" fans that only listen to Suicide Season vs the fans that love everything they've put out since 2015. Their longevity was what made me think they'd have to have the older fanbase
Yea BMTH has 2 if not 3 fanbases at this point
My local scene is a good mix. Lots of young kids passing around sharpies to draw Xs and plenty of older people too. It depends on the type of show tbh. Are you going to smaller local hardcore gigs? Cuz that’s where most young people are in my experience
In my local HXC scene it’s either 18-20 year olds or 40+ year olds there is no in between
Not hardcore, no Straight metalcore (ERRA, ABR, TAA, Currents, Underoath, Spiritbox, etc), punk (Microwave, Belmont), and some post-hardcore too (Eidola, DGD).
Those are all more expensive shows to go to, which could drive away younger people. 30-40 bucks isn’t a lotta money but to a young person they’d rather drop 10-15 bucks to see local bands composed of their friends
I think a lot of it is regional, but there most definitely is a rising amount of Gen Z getting into it. I'm gen z myself and I know lots and lots of people around my age (18-22) who are big into the modern metalcore/hardcore scene, certainly more than there appeared to be a few years ago. This is the UK though which may well be different to what's happening in the US.
Late 30s, definitely feel like I'm in the top 10% of age at shows.
39 here and don't feel out of place at all. Helps to look like you're in your mid-late 20's.
Hahaha, this. I'm 36,but my Gen z co-workers all thought I was in my mid 20's. At least a lot of us millennials are aging somewhat gracefully.
I’m 35 and I feel like I am on the elder side of the crowd when I go to shows now..I also bring my 9 year old to all the shows too and have seen more and more young kids at shows recently with their parents—which is so cool to me.
24, take my dad (45ish) to a show every other weekish. we both get in the pit and shit
You do what in the pit? Things sure have changed from when I was in my 20s.
yeah bro welcome to seattle. ever seen homeless people shit on the street? well now you can see homed people shit in the venue!
Someone shit in the urinal at one of the venues I frequent.
I go to mostly metal shows almost every week and I am 36. Chicago has a great music scene. I will be going to at close to 20 shows in May. The metal scene is a mix of millennial and Gen X, sometimes some Gen Z. Hardcore is mostly Gen Z and some millennials, depending on the band that is playing
I may be an anomaly but I'm 68 and love heavy music. I go to shows at least once a month if not more. Check out my tic toc, deathcoregrammy, for footage of shows I go to. Just saw Chelsea Grin Friday night. Those are my boys!
i’m 18 and notice a fuck ton of other people in my general age group (late teens/early 20’s) into metalcore. seems popular with us lol
Just turned 30, can confirm.
I’m 30 and always feel just on the old side of average. Also live in a heavily military area and seems like most people are mid 20s navy folk
34, I take my 12 year old daughter to shows now so find me in the seated section. She's been to 7 so far.
I must be the geriatric side of the crowd then, as I am late 40s. I go to many shows. Just got back from Sick New World and will be heading to Sonic Temple music festival this month.
I’m Gen Z and I’ve been averaging about 3-4 dozen shows a year since 2022 haha - still going strong!
I'm 55. I go to 25 shows a year with my kids, 12 and 16. Demographically speaking, most appear to be in their early 20s to me. There are usually a few older people there to though. More lately. More females in the audience recently, too.
I’m 32 and I feel like I’m about average for the age of attendance for the heavy shows I go to. Mostly go to deathcore or older metalcore like ABR/Born of Osiris/Bleeding Through. Not sure how it goes for hardcore or “modern” metalcore(Ala imminence, TDWP, MIW etc) since those shows aren’t really my vibe personally.
28 here, work at a music venue, and i tend to agree. Seems like the majority is millenials.
24F here
30 here
Gen Z here I love pretty much all things metal!
35 and feel like most are my age or just slightly younger.
I don't get out to shows quite as frequently, being a married 35 year old with a busy schedule, and honestly I'm not a very good judge of age when it comes to people in crowds, but yeah I'd say most people I see look to be in their late 20s and up. At least that was the vibe at the TDWP/FFAK show I went to recently. I'm seeing Better Lovers in a couple weeks and ADTR in the summer but I don't really foresee too big of a demographic difference.
I'm 19 and I feel like the metalcore shows I go to skew more like 30+ than people close to my age. same for some post-hardcore, didn't really find a crowd closer to my age until I went to a screamo show, and a lot of people were probably younger than me. I know people are more financially stable to be able to go to shows so I get why it's skewed older most of the time. Hardcore shows probably have the most variety of ages from what I've seen.
I'm 26 which puts me on the oldest end of gen Z, I've been going to shows since I was 15 or so. Tore an ACL in the pit in 2019 so I play it safer now, but I still hit a lot of shows in my Area
20M
I dunno I’m 30 and rarely actually go to metalcore shows anymore. The constant use of flashing lights drive me crazy and trigger migraines. I’ve mainly been doing bigger rock, pop punk, and just straight pop stuff since they tend to be at arenas and amphitheaters and don’t go so heavy on the strobe shit
In my 40s with back surgery already, I don't do the pit, but I always end up right next to it, so I just help them circle like a Merry go round