Throwing their hands in the air like they just don’t care, screaming every lyric back at the musician in an ear-deafening roar and finally getting to embrace their musical mania live; yeah, concert-hungry fans definitely enjoyed a feast this summer.

“I went to see J. Cole, Lana Del Rey, and 5 Seconds of Summer in concert the past few months. I’m broke now but it was so worth it,” sophomore Saachi Subramaniam said.

One of the biggest names in the music industry came to Houston this summer, and that’s J. Cole. J. Cole performed in Houston on August 21 at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, accompanied by Big Sean, Jeremih, and YG. J. Cole ended up singing the entire 2014 Forest Hillz Drive album at the Houston concert, which he has never done before. And according to Billboard, this particular album debuted at number one on Billboard 200, selling 353,000 copies just in this first week. With Houston selling out the 16,500 capacity of the Pavilion, the show was not one to miss.

“I saw most of the big names this summer, but it’s really the small gigs here and there in tiny restaurants and cafes that I really love. It’s really one-on-one in close quarters like that, and it feels like that artist is singing directly to you, not just an arena. I love Houston music, I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else to experience it,” freshman Kirsten Henry said.

Fall Out Boy made quite the impression on Houston as well when their show rolled around July 24^th, rocking the Pavilion in their very own punk-rock way. Accompanied by rapper Wiz Khalifa, the pop/punk-rock band, according to the Houston Press, brought in a gross revenue of $471,961, once again filling up the 16,500 seat Pavilion.

“Music is a way of life here in Houston. It’s not just a past-time, or just a hobby but something that connects us all.” Sophomore Emily Nguyen said.