The summer brings so many amazing things colder months can’t. Picnics in the park, rooftop films, flea markets, bike rides, beaches, roller skating, and summer concerts. Go to see the bands you love at your local stadium, the small underground venue nearby, or if you’re lucky, the outdoor bandshell in the next town over — possibly even for free! Check out the apps listed below to find out when your favorite band is playing and where, how to get tickets, and what route to take so you can arrive on time and in style.
Local Concerts
Once you open the free Local Concerts app, it finds your location and brings up a list of events in your vicinity; you can search either by venues or shows. Once you choose a show (thorough either filter), you can map it, buy songs from the artist, see what else is playing at that venue, find tickets, and email a friend about the show. Also, you can search subcategories within the main subject “Shows,” such as “Popular,” “All,” and “My Artists,” which is music pulled directly from your iPhone.
Going
Going, which is also a free app, locates your city and informs you of all the events you might want to attend. This includes nightlife, culture, music, and activities. Search via what’s popular and what’s nearby; once you have selected your preferred entertainment, you can save them in “My Picks,” RSVP to events, or “Like” them and let your friends know what you’re doing as you’re doing it, and get a live feed showing who is up to what in your town.
Bandsintown Local Concerts App
The Bandsintown Local Concerts app (free) does more than just tell you when bands come to your city. It not only informs you about who’s in town, but it also recommends which shows are the best ones to check out. Connect to several ticket sites through this app too, so you don’t have to risk being turned away at the door. Plus, you can manually search for a band or musician and then track their whereabouts.
iConcertCal
Like most of the concert apps, iConcertCal ($2.99) gives you the rundown of shows within a certain radius—you can specify from 2 to 250 miles, and you can select other cities as well. You can search by bands or venues, and after checking off all the concerts you’re interested in going to, you can view that info in your own show section. One of the best parts about this app is that it lists obscure bands, and even smaller venues, that the mainstream apps don’t, such as Goodbye Blue Monday, Death by Audio, and The Charleston.
StubSearch Tickets
StubSearch (free) finds tickets for all types of events: sports games, theatres, and, of course, concerts. They list some pretty big shows like Bell Biv Devoe at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, and Weezer at the Williamsburg Waterfront; but then they also have smaller shows such as Unrest at Maxwell’s and Small Black at Mercury Lounge. Besides the regular ticket listings, there is a special “Hot Tickets” section, where seats for super-popular shows like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber are listed. You can click on a button to view a calendar for the present week only, and you can search by venue as well.
