09/24/2025
Avery Cochrane - FIRST CONCERT EVER
In this First Concert Ever segment, the pop/indie pop artist, Avery Cochrane, talks about the story of the first concert she ever went to. You can check out the story below:
I've never been on a tour of my own, so I'd love to share my first-ever concert experience. My first concert was in either third or fourth grade, when I saw Selena Gomez (And The Scene) at the Washington State Fair. I remember it clearly despite it being so long ago. It was with my two best friends at the time, all of us obsessed with Selena and Wizards of Waverly Place. Our moms let us wear eyeshadow and clip-on pink hair extensions. We looked crazy. Our version of a pre-game at nine years old consisted of cheese pizza and obsessive selfie-taking on my mom's old digital camera. I need to find those photos; I know they exist somewhere in the archives.
Seattle is about an hour away from the fairgrounds, and we spent the entire car ride listening to her new (at the time) album, When The Sun Goes Down, which had some of my all-time favorites like Love You Like A Love Song, Who Says, and Hit The Lights. I remember being nervous. I was worried the concert experience wouldn't live up to my Disney Channel expectations, but it ended up exceeding them. Our seats were just left of the stage and on the ground level. Selena wore a graphic T-shirt and leather pants, which I remember being surprised by because all of her promotional looks had been so glamorous; regardless, I thought she looked insanely cool (that outfit definitely inspired the rest of my elementary school wardrobe). Along with performing her hits, she also did a cover of Super Bass, which I think shocked all the kids and their moms, given how edgy the lyrics were. I can't remember if she swore or not, but I remember asking my friend's mom what "blazin' up" meant haha. My clearest memory from the night was this wave of surrealness that occurred about halfway through the concert. It hit me hard, seeing somebody so famous in the flesh, which I think is a disorienting feeling for anyone the first time it happens. I started fangirling with my friends all over again after that.
The coolest part about this entire experience is that, in about a month, I have plans to return to the same fairgrounds, to the same grandstand, but this time as a performer. I'm opening for AJR (with Em Beihold) on September 18th, and I feel like a nine-year-old all over again. Maybe I'll wear a 2011 Selena Gomez-inspired outfit as a tribute to this full-circle moment! It's a very cool feeling and I'm sure my younger self would be beaming with excitement.
Keep up with Avery Cochrane on website.
Join us as Avery Cochrane tells you about her first experience with live music.