How to Survive the Pit at a Concert in 10 Ways

It has always been on my bucket list to get pit tickets to a concert. I have gone to tons of concerts in the last decade or so (god that makes me start to feel old), but I’ve never been anywhere near the stage. I wanted to, just one time, buy a pit ticket and be up there in the front, looking up at the musicians, and just scream like a crazy fangirl. Well, this year we finally got pit tickets! We went and saw Florida Georgia Line, and it was so insanely awesome and scary at the same time! That was my first experience, and may even have been my last…but I want to tell those of you that want to get in the pit, how to survive.

1. Make friends with everyone

We got there so early because we were determined to be touching that stage! We headed in, got our wristbands and headed into the pit. There wasn’t a lot of people there yet, so we were able to get pretty close. We started talking to people around us in an attempt to make friends that could save our spots when we had to leave for a potty break or drinks. Most of them were friendly, but some of them were a little too hammered for the hour of the day to deal with. I knew that was not going to turn out well later.

2. Don’t wear heavy clothes

Once the second opener came on it just felt like people swarmed to the pit area. It was already an extremely hot day to begin with. I wore a tank top, shorts, and my hair up in a bun. I had a feeling that being in the middle of a hundred other sweaty bodies was not going to ever give me an opportunity to get cold. I was right. I never got cold, and never stopped sweating.

3. Don’t wear nice clothes

Because of all the sweating and being shoved around, I knew that wearing any nice top was probably a little risky. I wore a very casual cotton tank top and I’m so glad I did. I got so much beer dumped on me it was a little ridiculous. A little of mine, and a lot more of everyone else’s.

4. Wear closed toe shoes

I wore my boots (because I wear them to every country concert), but trust me, you would not want anything else on your feet. People were stomping all over the place and thank god I had my boots on so my toes weren’t victims!

5. Take a group of friends with you

We had six of us in that pit. All girls and then the boyfriend. (He’s a brave soul!) Being with a larger group made it easier to claim a spot, and easier to find us in the crowd. We were able to leave for drinks in shifts and then squeeze our way back to the group. (This is where the making of friends comes in handy because they can help you recognize where you are in the crowd).

6. Make sure your phone is fully charged

I took probably close to 500 pictures on my phone that night. I couldn’t help it, I was so excited! Yes, a third of them were super blurry, but still, I was determined to capture everything! Unfortunately, my phone did die before the concert ended, but only by about a song or two.

7. Wear a small purse that zips closed

I definitely needed somewhere to keep my chapstick, ID, money, and hand sanitizer. I brought a little brown purse that zips closed, which was nice because once it got dark I was able to put my sunglasses in there for safe keeping. I also bought a T-shirt before the beginning of the concert, so it was nice to have somewhere to put it.

8. Don’t fight back

So I am going to admit, when that swarm of people started in the pit, I became a little claustrophobic, and I started panicking. I asked the guy in front of me to stop touching me for a second so I could catch my breath and then his girlfriend started screaming at me, “You’re in the f-ing pit, get over it!” Then through my drunk eyes, I saw a girl who wanted to fight me, so what was my defense mechanism? I started crying. Ahhh yes. Lovely. She did back off though! Once I calmed down I was able to have fun. Although, later, some girl kept bumping into my friend, so my friend just gave her a little hip bump back and the girl freaked out and PUNCHED her in the head! She punched my friend in the head! What the hell! I literally thought it was about to go down like Jersey Shore. But you know how my friend reacted? She just looked at her and kept dancing. Do that if anyone punches you!

9. Be aware of the older crowd

For whatever reason there was a ton of people in the crowd in their 40s and 50s. They were the most rambunctious! At one point we all got shoved, like dominoes, and fell into this lady. She freaked out and shoved one of my friends and started screaming at us to not push them. Yeah, lady, we totally did that on purpose. Just be careful, because they were the craziest.

10. Have fun!

So yes, I had some more crazier stories than fun ones, but I did have fun. When I wasn’t being shoved or yelled at, it really was awesome! We were so close I could actually see the expression on their faces as they performed! The boyfriend even caught TWO guitar picks! And we did make friends with some cool people, and it was just absolutely awesome being that close!

Thomas Rhett

Frankie Ballard

Florida Georgia Line

So, have any of you been in the pit at a concert?! How was it? Do you have any crazy stories like me?