Concertgoers hold up phones as Phoebe Bridgers performs at a concert in New Jersey in 2022. Photo courtesy of Sophia Romana.
By Sophia Romana
TAMPA, Fla. — I went to Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Tour expecting to miss my phone. Instead, I barely thought about it once the concert started.
I attended the show alone at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The tour was advertised as phone-free, so I knew what I was signing up for when I bought my ticket, but I was still curious about what spending an entire concert without regular access to my phone would actually feel like.
The process started as soon as I entered the arena. After scanning my mobile ticket, I was handed a physical ticket with my seat information. My phone was then placed inside a locked Yondr pouch that stayed with me for the night. There were designated areas throughout the arena where guests could have the pouch unlocked if they needed to use their phone.
Once the concert started, one of the most memorable parts of the night was simply looking around the arena and not seeing a phone in sight. It felt almost unreal, especially after getting so used to seeing screens held up throughout concert crowds.
From what I observed, people seemed much more engaged with the performance and with each other. I saw friends singing together, hugging, crying, and reacting to the show instead of immediately reaching for a phone to record it.
I felt more present too. At most concerts, part of my attention is always on whether I should record a song or if I have a good angle. At this show, that pressure completely disappeared. I could just watch what was happening in front of me, and the experience felt much more carefree.
I also loved going into the show without knowing exactly what to expect. Since I hadn’t seen any videos from earlier dates on the tour, I did not know what the stage design, lighting, or bigger visual moments would look like.
That made some of the biggest moments feel genuinely surprising, which is becoming harder to experience at major concerts.
Shayley Webster, who has been a fan of Bridgers since 2021, felt similarly. She said knowing the show would be phone-free did not make her hesitate to buy a ticket, and she would attend another one for an artist she really enjoys.
“It was such a magical concert, and I totally see why Phoebe chose the no-phone policy,” Webster said. “It made everything feel so much more intimate and special.”
As much as I enjoyed being disconnected for a few hours, I can also understand why the idea would make some concertgoers uncomfortable.
For parents especially, the biggest issue may be being unable to immediately contact someone in a crowded arena.
“Safety is my biggest concern,” said Victoria Mercogliano, a parent of a concertgoer. “In a crowd of thousands, I want my daughter to have immediate access to her phone if there’s an emergency or she needs to reach someone.”
The arena did have designated areas where guests could have their Yondr pouches unlocked and use their phones if needed. Still, walking to one of those areas is not the same as being able to immediately reach into your pocket during an emergency.
For Mercogliano, encouraging people to disconnect is different from forcing them to.
“‘Live in the moment’ is a great invitation,” Mercogliano said. “I don’t think it should be enforced with a locked bag.”
That is where I think phone-free concerts become more complicated. I loved not worrying about my phone for a night, but I also do not think every concert needs to take that choice away.
There is still something special about taking a photo or recording part of your favorite song and being able to look back on it years later. For some artists and fan bases, sharing those moments is part of the concert experience.
Webster felt the same way after attending the show. She said she would attend another phone-free concert, especially if the artist had a clear reason for the policy.
“I wouldn’t want every concert to be phone-free, just for safety concerns, being able to check the time or record, but I’m definitely not opposed,” Webster said. “Especially if the artist has a clear purpose for it like Phoebe did.”
For me, I still would not want every concert to be phone-free. But the experience did change how I want to approach concerts in the future. I will probably still take a few photos or videos, but I do not want to spend as much of the night worrying about recording everything.
Sometimes, being more present in the moment is more memorable than having another video saved on my phone.