Music fan sets new world record by attending 86 concerts in one year
How many concerts have you been to this year?
Joshua Beck from New Jersey made history for attending a total of 86 concerts in 2022, holding the Guinness World Records title for “most concerts attended in one year.”
As shared in his interview with GWR, Joshua said he is fond of listening to music, so he's been attending concerts since he was 12.
“Listening to music has always been one of my favorite hobbies,” he said, adding that he loves the “atmosphere” and common purpose of concerts—that is to “enjoy the music.”
“My mindset is that I never know if I’ll have another chance to see that band perform live again—life is unpredictable,” he said.
He didn’t think of making history with his favorite hobby at first, but when he realized he had already attended 30 concerts in August last year, he did some research to find out who held the title at the time—and then he set his mind to beat it.
Joshua attended 56 shows a month later, nearing his goal of beating the then-titleholder's 65 concerts.
“In the next five months, I saw a whopping 56 shows,” he said.
“I didn’t do it for fame or recognition, but just to prove to myself that I could accomplish this goal and to have fun while doing it!” he added.
The concert lover also opened up about having doubts about reaching his goal at some point since he only started pursuing it in the middle of the year. “I didn’t think I would have sufficient evidence for the record since I started it halfway through the year. It turned out to be enough though!”
As for the expenses, he said he wasn’t able to keep track of them religiously, but he estimated that he spent about $5,000 (almost P300,000) on concert tickets alone as well as an additional $1,500 (over P80,000) for gas, toll, and food.
Joshua expressed his pride for his recent feat, saying that he loves sharing it with family, friends, and children at the outpatient mental health facility where he currently works. “When I tell them about the record, particularly the younger ones, they get very excited,” he said.
“Often they will tell me that they have some GWR books at home and love to look through them and that they hope to see me in the next one!”
Joshua is preparing to attend more concerts of his favorite musicians like the Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Bruce Springsteen, and Depeche Mode.
He's also eyeing another world record: the “most concerts of the same artist attended in one year.”
“This would take considerably more money and time to complete and would require travel all over the US and probably Europe as well,” he said. “This one seems like a really cool feat because it combines my two favorite things: traveling and music.”
“I hope to see the world one day, and attempting this record would be a great way to do it,” he said.
