Coming soon to a show near you: one man's journey to attend over 280 concerts in 365 days
An American man has broken a record for rocking out around the country, after attending an incredible total of 289 concerts in just 365 days.
Timothy “Tim” Schaefer from Charlotte, North Carolina, USA smashed the Guinness World Records title for the most concerts attended in one year on 15 April last year, after visiting 34 different music venues across seven US states.
Image credit: Dan Russell-Pinson
To witness shows from a variety of genres – such as metal, pop, alternative, EDM, jazz, and rap/R&B – this music-lover spent over $10,000 (£7,433) on just his tickets to see 708 different artists perform.
In all, he watched 751 bands in just one year – from established legendary performers, to local up-and-coming musicians. And this number doesn’t even include festivals, a six-day “ShipRocked” cruise, and some small-venue shows!
“I crave live music, I NEED live music, as often as possible,” said Tim to GWR. “I explain why to people by telling them that I can not ‘manufacture’ my own happiness, I must ‘absorb’ it from the vibes of people around me.
“And what better place to find a good supply of those vibes than at a concert?”
Technically, Tim’s love for music started when he was a kid – after an uncle started giving him records by artists such as KISS, Led Zeppelin, Queen, AC/DC, and Blondie. His first concert was by legendary American performers Van Halen – which is still his favourite band to this day – though it’s obvious that for him, it doesn’t matter what music is being played, as long as the artist puts on a good show.
Nevertheless, Tim’s record-breaking journey really picked up speed after the lockdown, when he started attending shows roughly six out of the seven days of the week.
In 2023, he went to concerts 306 days out of the year, and he upped that total to 308 in 2024 – and even though some of these concerts are not large or independent enough to count towards his GWR total, he still says that they play a crucial role in what he calls his “vibe supply.”
“Pretty much every non-shutdown year since 2016 I have attended well over 100 concerts,” said Tim. “It’s just what I do, what I NEED to do.”
And for the lifelong music-lover, an integral part of this experience is the camaraderie that comes from meeting people at live events.
For years, Tim has been a single father, after his wife suddenly passed away from a rare heart condition just 23 days after giving birth to their son. Yet when his boy got older, Tim had more time to follow his passions, and he quickly became part of a group of fellow music (and moshing) fans that call themselves the ICoN Pit Crew.
“It is basically a ‘family’ of like-minded individuals that strive to make mosh pits as welcoming and as safe as a mosh pit can be, while sharing a common love of the music and a bond with each other, the venue staff, and even the bands themselves on stage,” explained Tim.
“We try to take a ‘family picture’ at every show/gathering, and I can usually be found in the back row of those pictures holding my hands up above my head in the shape of a heart,” he continued.
“I also make it a rule that nobody gets to leave without getting a ‘Dad hug’ from me, because I know everyone has silent struggles they are dealing with, and hugs can be very healing.”
And thanks to his supportive crew, he was eventually made aware of the Guinness World Records title for most concerts attended in a year. After his friends saw the record in a Facebook post in 2023, they immediately notified the biggest concert-goer they knew – and Tim’s quest to get the title was born.
“So, I decided that since I was already going to so many concerts, I may as well set a Guinness World Records title while I was at it!” he said.
I am far from the only person that really enjoys – needs, in my case – going to a LOT of concerts. [But] I enjoy the friends (“family”), venue staff/security, and the bands themselves that I meet at these shows, maybe even more than the music itself… and I enjoy the music A LOT! - Tim Schaefer
Due to GWR’s guidelines about what constitutes a ‘concert’, Tim had to carefully plan out what shows he would be attending throughout his 2025 attempt. For example: each performance must be given in a recognized venue with a capacity of at least 200 people (festivals don’t count!), multiple bands under one billing are considered just one concert, and all events must be ticketed.
However, the instructions proved to be no problem for Tim, as he enjoys a wide variety of music – including, as he says, “new-to-me” artists.
Throughout his adventures, he witnessed big-name rock artists such as: the Foo Fighters, the Pixies, Joan Jett, Foreigner, Iron Maiden, and Green Day. He jumped around at rap concerts from artists like 21 Savage, J.I.D, and Polo G, and sang along to pop-hits from musicians like Niall Horan from One Direction, Imagine Dragons, Post Malone, Maroon Five, Avril Lavigne, and Benson Boone.
Tim even witnessed classic Alternative artists like Alanis Morissette, Deftones, and Cage the Elephant, rocked out alongside Limp Bizkit and Social Distortion, and danced along to EDM and house artists like Steve Aoki. He even took in classical music, such as an orchestral rendition of Dr. Dre’s 2001, violinist Lindsey Stirling, and the Trans Siberian Orchestra.
And that’s not even the tip of the iceberg!
Yet Tim says that his best memory during his journey was undoubtedly seeing his current favourite band, Avatar, play twice in Colorado. He’s seen them perform over 50 times now, and will be seeing them again this April, but he was particularly thrilled by the fact that the woman scanning his entry ticket was an old mosh pit friend from back home in Charlotte – a totally random coincidence, since he had no idea she moved out West.
And despite the blast that he had during his year-long record-breaking trip, Tim says that he has no plans to stop going to concerts anytime soon.
“As I got closer to the end of the year-long attempt, I got one question more frequently: ‘What are you going to do once the attempt is over? Are you going to take a break from concerts?’” he said. “To which I reply, ‘no, I will continue to keep going to concerts as often as they are available, and I am able to!’”
Image credit: Dan Russell-Pinson
“Attempting the Guinness World Records title for most concerts in a year has been a fun and challenging experience, even if it’s a lot of work at the same time,” he continued. “And if I successfully set this record and then someone eventually beats it, I will likely start another attempt to try to take the record back.
“After all, I will already be going to the shows anyway, right?”
Header image credit: Dan Russell-Pinson, at the The Milestone punk bar in Charlotte, North Carolina