I had the good fortune of seeing two amazing concerts in one week: Slightly Stoopid at Marymoor Park and Taylor Swift at Centurylink Field.

Not only were both music concerts totally amazing, but I was able to enjoy them with people I love beyond words.

My first summer concert was August 6th at Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA to see Slightly Stoopid, along with Dirty Heads and Stick Figure, with my sister, Maddie, and our mama, Carol. It was a perfect NW night for an outdoor concert. The park location made it feel like a backyard family gathering in a way; very intimate. We walked around and chatted. The venue holds up to 5,000 people. It was an all-ages show, and no joke, there were babies to grandparents in attendance-again, giving it a family reunion feel. I had never heard of the band before, but my sister has been a fan for a while and has seen their concerts before. I’m so glad she shared them with me because I really enjoyed their laid-back reggae/hip-hop/rock style.

It’s their “Everything is Awesome” summer tour of 2015, traveling and performing in over 40 cities. Slightly Stoopid just released their newest album, “Meanwhile…Back at the Lab,” on June 30th, 2015. The band took the stage and rocked the park, accepting a fat blunt from a fan and smoking it while keeping the crowd swaying on their feet to their contagious feel-good vibe. At one point some jackass climbed onstage and jumped into to the crowd hurting a woman. The band stopped playing while seeing to it that the woman was taken care of, all the while calling out said jackass for his foolish behavior. Once the man was removed from the park, the show went on under the stars of the PNW.

Stick Figure and Dirty Heads are two other SoCal bands on tour with Slightly Stoopid. The whole concert was fabulous and I look forward to seeing them live again one day.

Fast-forward two days, on August 8th I took my three daughters to see Taylor Swift at Centurylink Field (where the Seattle Seahawks play). The tickets were a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law, Noelle, and her hubby, Aksel. We had been counting down the days and were not disappointed! We’ve been T-Swizzle fans since the release of her first album back in 2009.

It was HUGE! I mean, seriously huge, like 60,000 people in one stadium. It was a trek to our seats-I got my exercise that night. Taylor had a cool wristband lightshow that changed colors with the songs. She sang old and new songs. We could only see her on the Jumbo-Tron screens, but it looked like we were watching the making of a music video with costume changes, back-up dancers, props and lights. It was a totally different concert experience than Slightly Stoopid at Marymoor Park. Both concerts were amazing and brought people together to feel joy and a collective appreciation for the musical talent of the recording artist.

If you haven’t been to a concert in a while, then I say it’s time to buy your ticket and show up. You won’t regret it and if you take people you love then it’s not time wasted even if it’s not the greatest concert. Whatever genre of music you crave, whether it’s classical or butt-rock, they are performing live and need people to play to. So go and enjoy the magic of live music. Then buy the CD so you can relive it over and over again.