It’s officially December which means the holidays are near! Sometimes it can be hard to come up with gift ideas for your friends and family. Don’t fret. I’ve got you covered for the concert goers and music lovers in your life. This 2018 NOLA Concerts Holiday Gift Guide is filled with some of my favorite gift ideas and recommendations that are sure to satisfy the concert goers and music lovers in your life this holiday season. From wireless headphones to stylish fanny packs and more, scroll through for some of my top gifts for the greatest time of the year!
Ticket Stub Diary ($15)
Throw out the unorganized box full of ticket stubs from concerts. The Ticket Stub Diary helps to organize and preserve tickets from concerts and other events. It fits all shapes and sizes of tickets and includes a notes area to jot down memories from the show. You can also fit wristbands from music festivals in the pockets. It’s a great way to keep your ticket collection organized and protected! (buy)
Wireless Headphones ($150)
Do you love listening to music on your phone or from your computer but hate the wires? You need a pair of wireless headphone in your life before the year ends. These little but powerful devices are perfect for any on-the-go music lover. Some of my favorite headphone brands that carry quality wireless headphones are JBL, Apple, Beats, and Bose. These are great for someone who spends long hours listening to music in the office, in the gym, and even simply at home.
Eargasm Earplugs ($35)
The most common cause of hearing loss is noise induced. As you probably know, live concerts and music festivals can get extremely loud. From the music blaring through the speakers to the fans screaming for the artists, you can damage your ears at just one event! So it’s only right to include Eargasm’s High Fidelity Earplugs in this holiday gift guide. These earplugs are great for protecting your ears from harmful noise levels at loud events such as concerts and festivals while still preserving the sound quality. Made out of hypoallergenic soft silicone, these earplugs are great for prolonged wear! (buy)
A Stylish Leather Calvin Klein Fanny Pack ($50)
A fanny pack is a within the bag size limits for for basically any and every event so it’s the perfect gift for the concert goer in your life! I chose this leather Calvin Klein fanny pack because it's not only stylish but will protect the items inside if it rains or snows. To make this gift even better, I suggest filling the fanny pack with music festival essentials such as a rain poncho, some pain relievers, a pocket-sized hand sanitizer, a couple of band-aids, a mini fan to plug into your phone, and gum. Giving the gift of a fanny pack filled with simple festival essentials will help your festival going friend to survive their next music festival! (buy)
Subscription to a Music Streaming Service ($9.99)
How about simply giving the gift of music itself? You can give your friend a one month, three months, six months, or a year subscription to a music streaming service such as Tidal, Apple Music, or Spotify. All three streaming services start around $9.99/month for their premium plans without commercials. Some other music streaming services include Pandora, Amazon Music, Google Play, and iHeartRadio.
Crosley Vinyl Record Player and Turntable - $190
Behold, the perfect gift for that one friend that collect vinyls or for that one friend that wants to start collecting vinyls. You will find that there are turntables online that priced for $50 or less but like they say, you get what you pay for. Music make skip or the sound quality of the speakers may sound janky once increased for relatively cheap vinyl players. The plus side of this Crosley turntable, also known as the “Nomad,” is that not only is it portable but it has a headphone jack, stereo speakers, and a three-speed turntable! You can also throw in a vinyl of an album they like with this gift to make it even better! (buy)
Portable Charger - $10+
Picture this, you’ve waited all day for your favorite artist’s set and you get the notification warning you that your phone is below 20%. Have no fear, the portable phone charger is here. I seriously can’t even remember life before portable chargers. How did I survive camping out for concerts or spending all day at music festivals without them? They’re small but handy at every event and inexpensive! (buy)
Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator - $50
Whether you a pro when it comes to making beat or just want to mess around, this pocket synthesizer is the perfect gift for you! With percussion sounds, a step sequencer, and effects such as distortion, delay, filters, and vibrato, the pocket synthesizer will help you to lay down beats quickly. Teenage Engineering has various different pocket synthesizers such as rhythm, vocals, bass, keys, percussion, and more! This easy to use synth can go anywhere with you! (buy)
Bruno Mars’ Limited Edition Pop Pop It’s Christmas Time Sweater - $60
For the super-fan in your life, you can’t go wrong with their favorite artist’s merchandise. Pricing varies based off of the type of merchandise you get. For under $10, you can get a small item such as an air freshener, a physical copy of a CD, or a pack of buttons. I can vouch that one of my friends gave me a couple Chance the Rapper air fresheners for my car one Christmas and it was one of my favorite gifts I received that year! It was such a minuscule gift but well thought out. For $30+, you can get apparel such as a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, sweatpants, or a hat! This limited edition Bruno Mars Christmas themed crewneck is a great example! (buy)
Music Genius Playing Cards - $10
Taking Lady Gaga’s poker face to a whole nother level. When I came across these online, I wanted a set for myself! This deck of cards is perfect for the music lover in your life! Each card bears a musical star’s portrait and each suit is represented by a different genre of music. For example, hearts is pop with Beyonce as the Queen and Prince as the Jack of Hearts whereas spades is rock with Elvis as the King of spades and Freddie Mercury as the Queen! (buy)
JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Speaker - $99
Portability seems to be an ongoing trend with gifts this year. That’s because we, the people, are always on the go! Insignia, Bose, JBL, Sony, and Ultimate Ears make quality portable, bluetooth speakers. You simply pair these speakers to your smartphone or other Bluetooth-enabled device and listen to your favorite music, even from a distance. Another cool feature is most accept hands-free calls through the speaker! The JBL Charge 3 is a personal favorite because it’s also waterproof! (buy)
Concert Tickets (Duh)
Last but certainly not least, you can never go wrong with simply giving the gift of concert tickets this holiday season. Besides listening to music, the next best thing is experiencing it live! I promise, the concert goer and music lover in your life will love you forever! If you’re from the New Orleans area, we have some exciting upcoming shows such as the Swisher Sweets Artist Project: NOLA Takeover with Machine Gun Kelly, Gucci Mane, and more in December. What better gift than getting them tickets to a night they’ll never forget?!
Don't want to buy concert tickets this year? Win them! Check my Instagram page daily for new ticket giveaways and enter to win a free pair of tickets to an upcoming show!