So I love music as y’all (hopefully) know. It’s my passion, my delight, my escape, my way of bonding or changing my mood—I fucking love it. So I like a LOT of artists, but there’s one particular band that has always been there with me: Of Monsters and Men. I first heard this Icelandic indie folk band around 2012. A friend showed me their 2011 (2012 in North America) album “My Head Is an Animal.” And let me tell you, when I say I love that album…I LOVE that album. That CD was in my car for a solid two or so years, I’m not kidding, and their record was front and center on my wall (I hung all my records up). I know every word, every pause, every “Hey!” in those songs. For some reason, I was never as obsessed with their 2015 album “Beneath the Skin” except for a few songs like “Black Water” and “Crystals,” but, because of my prior obsession with them, they still remained at the top of my list of beloved bands.

On July 26, 2019, I binge-listened to the entire “Fever Dream” album, which had been preceded by their hit single “Alligator.” After hearing “Alligator,” I thought we might have another “My Head Is an Animal” on our hands, and I was right. Every song in this album is incredible. Honestly, it still doesn’t completely match up for me, but I know that’s due to the history I have with their first LP. Some of my favorites from this one: “Wars,” “Róróró" and “Sleepwalker,” which I’m fully obsessed with. But honestly, they’re all good so just listen to the whole album!

I first saw Of Monsters and Men at Wakarusa, an Arkansas camping festival beloved by music lovers in the Ozarks, which has since ended, as has the friendship with the person I saw them with. I fell in love with Nanna and the fantastic fedora she wore that night. I remember standing under the tent, about 40 feet from the band, just mesmerized by their talent. Since then, it’s been a dream of mine to see them again.

However, there was a slight issue. Obviously, since they’re an Icelandic band, they don’t exactly pop over to the US that often. In fact, they only toured one more time (from August to October 2015) and I couldn’t get anyone to go with me. They also performed at Coachella in 2016, but...that’s one expensive festival y’all, so I have not made it there.

Anyway, 2019 rolls around, the teasers are popping up and then, finally, the album. As I said, I binge-listened and I also made sure to pre-order the record because I just knew this one was going to be great. I made my boyfriend listen to it while we cleaned our place and he even got into them. BUT. Even before all that, I saw they were going on tour and freaked the fuck out. I kept saying, “I HAVE to go, I NEED to see them.” I’ve put them on the top of “What artist would you like to see next year” lists in every festival survey since I first saw them and I knew they’d come to NYC so this was my year. In May, I was all ready to get my tickets and bribe someone (likely the aforementioned boyfriend) to go with me, when he sent me the purchase confirmation and told me we’d be seeing them in September...seriously...get yourself a partner who will help you achieve your life goals and dreams.

SO. Last night. September 5. We saw Of Monsters and Men at Radio City Music Hall and they were everything I’d been dreaming of for the last six years. Every note was perfect, their energy was contagious—I’ve never clapped over my head so much at a concert in my life—it was thrilling. I didn’t get overwhelmed like I did at Fleetwood Mac (I cried three times 😂 NEVER did I think I would say that), but I was totally enthralled. I didn’t pull my phone out once during the second half of the show and that was when they played all my favorites like “Lakehouse,” “Yellow Light” and, of course, “Dirty Paws.” I was screaming those lyrics!

Anyway, two points to be made here. One, go listen to Of Monsters and Men if you haven’t already. I don’t care if you start from the beginning or listen to their latest, I just think they’re a wonderful sound that everyone should hear. Two, if you want to do something, DO IT. See, if my boyfriend hadn’t bought those tickets or if I couldn’t have gotten anyone else to go with me, I probably wouldn’t have gone last night and I would have been devastated. But, for me, I would have been stressing out about being the “weird girl” alone at the concert all night and it would have ruined it for me. But people do it all the time. The guy next to us was alone and I just thought, “Good for you, man!” and then didn’t think about it again. My brother, one of my idols, has gone to multiple concerts by himself because it’s important to him and, honestly, not a lot of people listen/know the bands he likes. If you truly love or want to do something, but no one else is into it, just do it by yourself! You’ll find friends and like-minded individuals there. If you don’t, you’ll still have done something you love and won’t regret. Because you’ll always regret not stepping out of your comfort zone for one night and seeing them.

I just want to end this post with a thank you. Thank you to Of Monsters and Men for being there for me through the tough times in college. Thank you for being there for me when I moved to Jersey and didn’t know anyone. Thank you for being there for me now when I have those hard moments. And finally, thank you for being the music I can share with people I love and giving me these experiences we can have together. 💜