Concerts come in many forms, but one thing that they all share in common is that they are live performances before an audience. Also, when we think of a concert, we are usually thinking of music. A concert can be of contemporary music, or it can be of classical, or jazz music. It can be any of a number of musical genres. There might be just one musician, or there could be a whole orchestra or band. A concert is also known as a "show", and nowadays it is more commonly known as a "gig", especially for more non-classical performances, such as rock, punk, hip-hop or jazz. A concert or gig might take place in a variety of venues, ranging from the large auditorium, such as the Big Egg in Tokyo, or The Ice Stadium in Stockholm, or it might just as well be held in a pub or club. Some concerts take place in theaters, barns, or even outdoors.

Some concerts are free, but in general you need to buy tickets in order to attend a concert. Many bands or performers go on tour, doing a series of concerts in a string of cities, in a number of countries. The concert gives the performers the opportunity to play in front of a live audience, and to establish a rapport with their fans. Concerts play a great role in the promotion of the artist, by increasing their exposure to their fans. If the fans really enjoy the gig, they will most likely want to go to more concerts by the same band. Tours are widely used to promote album sales, with the tour often having the same name as the album. Some bands love doing live gigs, and do many of them, whereas other bands rarely perform live.

Some bands that generally pull in a large audience can really go to town with the special effects, such as lasers, lights, elaborate props, inflatables, film shown on screen, smoke, pyrotechnics, and so on. All this helps to increase the excitement and the spectacle. The Rolling Stones, who are renowned for going on tour, made fantastic use of inflatables on their Voodoo Lounge Tour. The progressive rock band Pink Floyd used some stunning props when they performed The Wall some years ago, and at one point built an entire wall on stage. Some artists, such as Iggy Pop, do crowd surfing, and the spectators often dance, sing along, and get going in the mosh pit. Rock concerts usually include a drum solo from the drummer, which tends to be one of the highlights of the show.

Some events are known as festivals, and these involve a huge line-up of large numbers of artists. Festivals, such as Glastonbury or Reading, normally take place outdoors, and there are a number of different tents where you can hear different styles of music, such as rock, indie, hip-hop, and so on. Most festivals include a dance tent with a top DJ, where the festival goers can dance for hours to the latest sounds.

So concerts come in all shapes and sizes. Pick the one for you, and you are sure to have a good time.