What Are Different Types of Concerts? A Practical Guide to Live Music Experiences

Not all concerts are the same. The way music hits you in a packed stadium under fireworks is nothing like sitting quietly in a cathedral as a violinist plays a Bach sonata. If you’ve ever wondered why some concerts feel like a party and others feel like a sacred ritual, it’s because there are real, meaningful differences between them. Each type of concert is shaped by the music, the space, the crowd, and the purpose behind it.

Classical Concerts

Classical concerts are the oldest formal live music experience still widely practiced. They usually take place in concert halls with excellent acoustics-places like the Wellington Town Hall or Vienna’s Musikverein. The audience sits quietly, phones are off, and applause happens only between movements or at the end of a full piece. There’s no talking, no standing, and no phone recordings. The performers wear formal attire, and the conductor leads with precision.

These events feature orchestras, chamber groups, or soloists playing works by composers like Beethoven, Mozart, or Tchaikovsky. A typical program includes a symphony, a concerto, and an overture. The experience is about focus, tradition, and emotional depth. You don’t go to a classical concert to dance-you go to listen deeply.

Rock and Pop Concerts

Rock and pop concerts are high-energy events built for excitement. Think of arenas packed with thousands, stage lights flashing, bass shaking your chest, and crowds singing every word back at the artist. These shows are designed to be immersive, theatrical, and loud. Bands like Coldplay, Taylor Swift, or Foo Fighters use elaborate sets, pyrotechnics, video screens, and choreographed movements.

Unlike classical concerts, audiences move, scream, jump, and sometimes even mosh. Merch stands sell T-shirts and posters, and the setlist is often built around hits-songs people know by heart. The goal isn’t subtlety; it’s connection through shared energy. Many rock and pop tours now include surprise guest appearances, rare deep cuts, or acoustic interludes to keep things fresh.

Festival Concerts

Festival concerts are multi-day, multi-artist events that turn music into a cultural experience. Think Glastonbury, Coachella, or New Zealand’s Rhythm & Vines. These aren’t just concerts-they’re temporary cities with food trucks, art installations, camping areas, and multiple stages playing different genres at once.

At a festival, you might see a hip-hop act at noon, an indie folk band at 4 p.m., and a techno DJ at midnight. The vibe is casual, communal, and often unpredictable. You don’t just come for one artist-you come for the whole atmosphere. Festivals thrive on discovery. You might go for your favorite band and end up falling in love with a new artist you’ve never heard before.

Outdoor and Open-Air Concerts

Outdoor concerts blend the intimacy of live music with the freedom of nature. They happen in parks, beaches, botanical gardens, or even on the decks of ships. Wellington’s Summer City series, for example, brings free performances to the waterfront every January. These events are often more relaxed than indoor shows.

People bring blankets, picnics, and sometimes wine. Kids run around. Dogs sit quietly beside their owners. The sound system is tuned to blend with the environment-not overpower it. Artists performing outdoors often adapt their sets: lighter arrangements, acoustic versions, or shorter sets to match the mood. The weather matters. A sudden rain can turn a concert into a magical, shared moment-or cancel it entirely.

Acoustic and Intimate Concerts

Acoustic concerts strip everything back. No drums. No amplifiers. Just a singer and a guitar, or maybe a piano and a cello. These shows happen in small venues-bookstores, coffee shops, libraries, or living rooms. Think of a songwriter playing in a room with 50 people, all leaning in to catch every lyric.

The magic here is in the vulnerability. You hear breath between notes. You hear fingers slide on strings. You hear the artist laugh or stumble and keep going. Artists like Bon Iver, Phoebe Bridgers, or local New Zealand acts like Lorde in her early days have played these kinds of shows. They’re rare, often ticketed through small platforms, and sometimes announced with no warning. If you get invited to one, consider yourself lucky.

Symphonic and Film Score Concerts

These are orchestral performances of music from movies, video games, or TV shows. Imagine hearing the Star Wars theme played live while clips from the film roll on a giant screen behind the orchestra. Or reliving the emotional peaks of The Lord of the Rings with a full symphony bringing every swell of the score to life.

These concerts attract both film fans and classical music lovers. They’re often family-friendly and introduce younger audiences to orchestral music in a way that feels familiar. The Auckland Philharmonia has performed Harry Potter and Game of Thrones concerts to sold-out crowds. The experience is cinematic-but real. You feel the music vibrating in your bones because it’s being made right in front of you.

Club and Underground Concerts

These are the hidden gems of the live music scene. They happen in basements, warehouses, or tiny bars with no sign outside. Genres include experimental electronic, noise, jazz improvisation, or indie rock bands just starting out. The crowd is small-maybe 30 people. The sound is raw. The lighting is dim. The vibe is underground.

Artists here aren’t chasing charts; they’re chasing innovation. You might see a musician using modified household objects as instruments or a DJ blending field recordings with glitch beats. These shows are rarely advertised on mainstream platforms. You hear about them through word of mouth, local music blogs, or flyers taped to lampposts. They’re not for everyone-but for those who love discovering music before it’s named, they’re priceless.

Religious and Cultural Concerts

Music has always been tied to ritual. In many cultures, concerts aren’t entertainment-they’re prayer. You’ll find these in churches, temples, mosques, or community centers. Examples include Gregorian chants in monasteries, Qawwali performances in Sufi shrines, or Māori haka and waiata performed during formal gatherings.

These events follow strict traditions. The music is passed down orally. The audience doesn’t clap between verses-they listen in silence, sometimes with hands folded or heads bowed. The goal isn’t to impress, but to connect with something larger. In New Zealand, you might attend a pōwhiri (welcome ceremony) where traditional songs are sung to honor guests. These aren’t performances for tourists-they’re living traditions.

Interactive and Immersive Concerts

This is the new frontier. Immersive concerts use technology to break the fourth wall. You might walk through a room where sound follows your movement, or wear VR headsets that place you inside the music. Some artists, like Björk or The Weeknd, have created shows where the audience moves through different environments-each room a different song.

Others use augmented reality: you point your phone at the stage and see digital fireworks, floating lyrics, or animated characters dancing with the band. These shows are expensive to produce and still rare, but they’re growing. They’re designed for people who want to not just hear music, but step into it.

How to Choose the Right Concert for You

Not every concert suits every mood. Here’s how to pick:

• If you want to relax and reflect, go for acoustic or classical.
• If you want to let loose and dance, choose rock, pop, or festival.
• If you want to discover new sounds, try underground or club gigs.
• If you want to feel part of something bigger, attend a cultural or religious performance.
• If you want to experience music like a movie, go for film score concerts.

Don’t just go because your favorite artist is playing. Ask yourself: What do I need from this experience? Quiet? Energy? Connection? Wonder? The right concert will answer that.