By: Logan Chaudoin
Going out alone in the year 2017 can be scary, especially when you’re a girl. For me personally, I never go out on the town by myself to see a show or grab a drink simply because a. fear of society thinking I am a weird loner (AND SO WHAT IF I AM?!), and b. boys.
The other night I challenged myself to go downtown to The Golden Pony to see Erin & The Wildfire all alone. I decided I was going to go solo because literally none of my friends like the same music that I do and I am determined not to miss anymore good shows just because I wouldn’t have a gal pal there with me. I was also just curious as to what it would be like to go by myself because you rarely see girls painting the town red all alone.
A few hours before the show (yes, hours prior) I was starting to feel nervous about the whole thing. I almost backed out and decided “eh, you don’t ~have~ to see this band… you’ve seen them before… it’s cold out… just stay inside.” But alas I prevailed and so here is what it was like when I, a girl, went downtown alone.
When I first got there, I was immediately intimidated by the group of guys standing around the bar, but I ignored the feeling and sat at the bar, waiting for the show to start. While I was sitting there one person came up to me and if you go to downtown Harrisonburg at all then you recognize his face. One nice stranger came up to me and talked to me for about fifteen minutes until he went to dance near the stage. Then, I saw a few people that I knew and while we were talking, none of them cared that I was alone. It was awesome.
Once the main act started, I went up to the stage and stood there in the crowd of no more than 50 people and I just enjoyed the music. Once I was amongst the crowd I finally realized that no one there cared that I was standing alone because we were all there to hear one thing: the universal language called music.
After the show, I caught up with the lead singer, Erin Lunsford, and asked what she thought about girls going out alone. She said that she gets her girls together and they go see other female performers because it is empowering and she knows it is a safe space. She wants to encourage other girls to go out and see shows too.
At the end of the night, I felt encouraged and happy knowing that I took one small step for women in the fight against the fear of being alone. I will say that no matter who you are, you need to remember that safety is always the most important thing. Never put yourself in any position that you’re not comfortable with. Also, when going to shows, especially shows where alcohol is present, remember to drink responsibly and never drink and drive. Other than that, I encourage everyone to go see shows — whether you have a group of ten, or it’s just you.
