Can minors attend concerts alone?
Minors can attend some concerts alone. Concerts without alcohol and aiming for a teen audience do accept minors without an accompanying adult. Concerts with boy bands and the likes are totally fine for teenagers. For rougher concerts, it is recommended to have an adult accompanying.
In shorts, it all depends on the venue and the band playing. Here are some guidelines:
1. What type of concert is it?
The type of music and the band will determine the type of audience. A boy band would have a kind and young audience whereas a heavy metal concert would attract an older and perhaps harsher population.
An electronic music concert is for instance often associated with partying, which may involve drinking. Electronic concerts are often 18+, keep it in mind if your kids ask to go to such concerts.
2. What is the music like?
If the band is about loving one another, the concert would be much safer for minors. Therefore, it is good practice to listen to the lyrics. If they are about the rejection of society or drugs, it is probably better to wait for your kid to be older.
Indeed, even if your kid is kind and responsible, you never know about other people.
3. Check the venue
The concert location is also to consider. Some venues serve alcohol, others don’t. A minor should usually not be served alcohol because bars should check IDs. However, nothing prevents your teen to be served by another attendee.
Some venues have more space and higher safety rules that would prevent risky crowd movements. So looking at the venue arrangement may help.
Its location may also be something to consider if your kid has to wait for you after the concert. Is the area safe? How is the mobile network of the venue?
4. Look at social medias
Looking at the band and venue social media is a good practice. That would give you a good indication of how the band interacts with their fans. Have problems occurred before with this band or this venue in particular?
What is the minimum age to attend a festival?
As a general rule, electronic music festivals have an age limit of 18. For all music genres festivals, there is usually no minimum age required but minors may need to be accompanied by an adult. You will need an ID that proves you are over 21 if you plan to drink.
Below is a list of festivals for which I gathered the age restrictions:
| Festival | Age limit |
|---|---|
| Summerfest | All ages, free for kids under 2 years. |
| Governors Ball | Under 18 must attend with an adult. |
| Stagecoach | All ages, free for kids under 10 years.* |
| Bonnaroo | Under 10 must attend with an adult. |
| Virgin festivals | Under 16 must attend with an adult. |
| Lollapalooza | Under 10 must attend with an adult. |
| Burning man | Under 18 must attend with an adult. |
| New Orleans Jazz Festival | All ages welcome. |
| Austin City Limits Music Festival | Under 10 must attend with an adult. |
| Coachella | Under 18 must attend with an adult. |
| Ultra Music Festival | Over 18 only. 21+ to drink alcohol. |
| EDC | Over 18 only. 21+ to drink alcohol. |
| Electric Zoo | Over 18 only. 21+ to drink alcohol. |
| Tomorrowland (Belgium) | Over 18 only. 18+ can drink alcohol. |
| Mysteryland (NL) | Over 18 only. 18+ can drink alcohol. |
| Creamfields (UK) | Over 18 only. 18+ can drink alcohol. |
| Glastonbury (UK) | Under 16 must attend with an adult. |
| Reading (UK) | Under 16 must attend with an adult. |
| Download (UK) | Under 16 must attend with an adult. |
| Boom (Portugal) | Under 18 must attend with an adult. |
*general admission only: In other words, some areas within the venue may have age restrictions controlled by ID. It was specifically written on Stagecoach website but may also apply to other festivals.
Do you need an ID to get into a concert?
As a general rule, it is recommended to bring your ID to concert. If the venue serves alcohol then there is a good chance you are asked to be carded. In that case, people may be stamped at the entrance so that the bars can identify who is minor.
As you don’t always know if alcohol is served or not beforehand, it is always recommended to bring your ID if you don’t want to be refused the entrance. Please note that even without alcohol you may be asked your ID in some rare cases.
Please note that a national ID or passport is not always required. In many cases, any identification papers with your birthdate on them can be sufficient proof. You can therefore bring your student ID instead. All venues are different though, so I will always recommend the national ID card.
Regarding festivals where concerts are held in several stages, the rules may differ from festival to festival. Some will check the ID at the festival entrance, others at the individual venues only. You may even be asked your ID at the bars only without being asked once before (applies to concerts as well).
In electronic music festivals, alcohol is always served. That’s the reason why these events are never allowed to minors. In this case, your ID will probably be asked if you look young.
Therefore many different scenarios are possible. It is always best to check the event website before. Just note that if there is alcohol, the probability of being carded is high.