I love concerts and I love spreadsheets, so it feels obvious that I should have a concert spreadsheet. I've had one for a year or so that I update when I go to a concert, but recently my friends Cassie and Kayla created their own versions.
As I often get asked about how I keep track of the shows I've been to and seeing other iterations of tracking from my friends, I decided to compile all of our concert spreadsheet knowledge into one blog post for you.
Let's start out with a few general tips and tricks:
- Utilize Google Sheets. There are few things worse than someone asking about a show and not being able to remember or having your spreadsheet not saved to the cloud.
- There is no "right" way to do a concert spreadsheet. Many of the concerts we have on our spreadsheets are the same, but we represent them differently.
- Update as frequently as possible so you don't miss a show!
Below you'll see my, Cassie, & Kayla's versions. The "template" (heading) in the first row, and an example in the second.
Allison’s Way | By Artist
I’ve got a lot less detail than Cassie and Kayla do. I don’t put who I went with, and I typically only put the venue if I don’t know the actual name of the tour. Sometimes I don’t put the opener if I don’t care for them. *insert shrug emoji*
| Artist | Show #1 | Show #2 | Show #3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Seconds of Summer | Jingle Ball 2014 - Los Angeles | ROWYSO - Tinley Park | ROWYSO - Dallas |
Pros: quick to put together
Cons: difficult to filter by show, cannot put too much detail
Here are the formulas I use in Google Sheets to calculate some stats —
- Count the total number of shows (so that Opener+Main=1) =COUNTUNIQUE(range)
- Count the number of artists (counting the number of rows) =countif(column,“*”)
- The asterisk tells the formula to count literally anything in the column that isn’t blank. If you have headers, you might want to adjust using the following=(countif(column,“*”)-1)
- Count the number of shows I’ve seen of an artist =countif(show#1 of artist : a reasonable number of cells right,“*”)
- I go out to column AB because I’m optimistic but also don’t want to slow my computer down
- Count the total =sum(column calculating the number directly above)
*I put these formulas in the first two columns before the artists so that they don’t interfere with the rest of the information or have to tweak the formulas too much
Cassie’s Way | By Date
In comparison to mine, Cassie’s has the most information.
| Date | Artist | Opener(s) | Venue | Buddies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/7/2015 | 5 Seconds of Summer | Hey Violet | Gexa Pavillion | Allison | N/A |
Pros: easy to get a good timeline, organized by show
Cons: would be the most difficult to backtrack and add past concerts, hard to track the bands if they’re the opener once and main act another time
Kayla’s Way | By Show
With more information than Cassie, and less than me, Kayla is the Goldilocks.
| Band | Date/Time Period | Venue | Opener | Misc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Seconds of Summer | 4/15/14 | House of Blues Dallas | Jackson Guthy | Their first show in Dallas |
Pros: can sort by day
Cons: hard to track the bands if they’re the opener once and main act another time
Alternative Methods
- The Notes app on your phone
- Collecting ticket stubs
- Writing them down in a notebook
- Using an electronic calendar
Remember, the key is making it work for you!
Do you have a way of keeping track of your spreadsheet? Let me know in the comments below!
Want to bookmark this post for later? You can save the image above to your Pinterest boards!
Leave a Reply