Part 1 of “How to Discover New Music” (read it here) was all about good music podcasts.
Part 2 is about attending concerts.
Make sure to get there early to catch the opening acts of bands that you already like. Sometimes, the opening bands are chosen by a band’s record label rather than by the band itself, but seeing opening bands nevertheless exposes you to music you probably haven’t heard before.
I’ve stood through my share of awful and/or boring opening acts, but I’ve discovered some of my favorite artists just because they were the opening band for another band I already liked.
Real life examples: Ben Lee opened for Phantom Planet, Eisley opened for New Found Glory, Brandi Carlile opened for Hanson, and The Bridges opened for Rooney.
On the flip side, say a band you like is opening for a different (bigger) band that you haven’t heard of before. Don’t just leave right after the band you came to see played — stick around for the headlining act, and you just might discover a new favorite band.
Real life example: The Like opened for The Sounds.