The unifying power of live music events: A systematic review of social outcomes for audience members

Live music events (including concerts, shows and festivals) have been central to community gatherings for many years, but the extent to which audience members experience social benefits during these events is not yet clear. In this systematic review, we review research on shared live music experiences to understand the scope of these initiatives, the quality of the research, and their social impact across different genres and types of live music events. The pre-registered review was conducted using eight search engines, selecting for peer reviewed papers published in English between 1990 and 2023. The 56 papers included in the review (comprising 59 studies) represented a range of live music event types and incorporated qualitative, quantitative, and experimental methods. The studies represented data from over 17,991 participants and most were conducted in Western countries. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) Checklist for qualitative research quality assessment showed that most studies were of high quality. The social impact of live music event participation was rich and diverse, and could be broadly categorised into four broad themes: Opportunities for Connection; Shared Experiences and Values; An Empowering Community; and A Sustained Sense of Community. Live music was associated with an extensive range of social benefits, broadly independent of the event’s type or genre. The impact of live music events is interpreted through various theoretical lenses including Self-determination, Social capital, Social identity, Collective effervescence, Third place, and Belongingness theories. The evidence reviewed here demonstrates that live music events produce a range of important social benefits for participants and offer great potential for a community-based non-clinical solution to loneliness. Future studies should aim to include a diverse range of participants, ensuring the representation and inclusion of various equity-seeking or marginalized groups, to understand how they can also experience the social and community-building benefits of live music events.