Concerts with hearing loss---navigating the music scene as a deaf person
(Note: this article was originally published on August 6, 2023. The content's dates reflect that.)
At seventeen, I have attended over forty concerts. While this is an impressive feat for someone my age alone, it has an added factor that most audiophiles don’t consider—I’m hard-of-hearing. The idea of a deaf, avid concert-goer seems like an oxymoron, but what many fail to realize is that concerts can be enjoyable for people of all backgrounds—including the Deaf community.
Last night (as of Friday, July 28th) I attended my forty-third concert, which was Louis Tomlinson, at the TD Pavilion at the Mann. My sister Kirstyn (also hard-of-hearing) and I have been to multiple concerts at this venue (her to three, myself to two), all with interpreters, so we knew the process for securing the accommodations we would need.
Each venue usually varies in their accommodation procedures, but most have the same general idea. Typically, the person who needs the accommodations buys tickets like any other concert goer would. Then they contact the box office or accommodation department (if the venue happens to have one, that is) to let them know they will need interpreters for the show.
It’s best to secure these accommodations right when you buy the tickets to ensure that the venue has sufficient time to find interpreters to work. In most cases, however, the venues seem to slack off and wait until a week or even a few days before the show to contact the interpreters. This, in turn, leaves them very limited time to prepare, especially if they aren’t given a set list (which happens much more frequently than you might think).
In this particular circumstance, Kirstyn (my sister) bought the tickets months ago from the venue (she purchased random terrace seats in hopes that they would move us to a more suitable location) and contacted the box office saying that we needed interpreters.
The day before the show, Kirstyn called the venue to confirm the accommodations, but they never answered. This left us uncertain if our accommodations were confirmed or not, which was slightly unsettling. Once we arrived at the venue, however, after a slight ticketing issue, Kirstyn received our upgraded tickets from the box office and we were able to move from our original uncovered seats to the prime seating section right by the stage.
our view (featuring the opening act, Giant Rooks during their bows)
Once we got to our seats, we were able to let out a sigh of relief that the switch went smoothly and we were still able to get our accommodations regardless of the venue failing to respond to my sister’s calls. To our surprise, the interpreters working this show were two interpreters that we were very, very familiar with. We first met one of the interpreters, Victoria, ten years ago at Taylor Swift’s Red Tour in 2013. Then we had her for One Direction and Ed Sheeran as well. It had been ages since we last saw her, but regardless she still remembered exactly who we were! The connections and bonds we form with our interpreters are truly unlike any other. Depending on the show itself, my sister and I are either the only people with interpreters, or sometimes there are others. For Louis, there was a hard-of-hearing mom with her daughter who we got to chat with. It is always a wonderful experience meeting others at concerts who are also D/deaf or hard-of-hearing, because truly nobody else understands our love for music and our ways of experiencing it.
We arrived at the show a little late, but still made it in time for the second opener, Giant Rooks, who refused to provide the interpreters with a set list. Their music and stage presence may have been fantastic, but their lack of accommodation (most likely unintentional) was a hindrance for both the interpreters and us hard-of-hearing people who rely on the interpreters. Luckily, there were two interpreters, so while one was working the other would quickly search online for the lyrics to whichever song the openers were performing. This works decently well, except for when the artists play unreleased songs. However, it is one hundred times easier to have a set list in advance so the interpreters don’t have to stress about finding the right song. It did end up working out in the end, but artists, please just help the interpreters out, it makes our lives and experiences so much easier.
Thankfully, the interpreters did have a set list for Louis, which, at the end of the day, was the most important part considering he was who we were there to see after all. This helped the show go much, much more smoothly. The most difficult part of a concert (from my perspective) is when an artist talks with the crowd, especially if they have an accent or if the crowd is exceptionally loud that night. At many of these shows, however, the venue gives the interpreters IEMs, usually after a little bit of a fight (similar to the ones that the sound engineers would have), which makes the sound from the microphones go directly into their ears instead of them trying to make out the speech and/or lyrics with no support other than simply listening as best they can.
Concerts are an incredibly unifying place for many, and the Deaf community is no exception to this. Venues need to listen to their staff and consumers when we ask for the accommodations we need in order to have the same fulfilling experience as any other concert-goer (which usually means not waiting until the very last minute to contact interpreters). If they take the proper steps, concerts will truly be a place for everyone.