Boston Pops Holiday Concert Review (without giving any surprises away)

View from our seats

It's midnight and I have been home from seeing the Boston Pops Holiday Concert for about 45 minutes. It was too much fun to want to go to bed. Seeing Keith Lockhart and the Pops has been on my bucket list for years. I decided to buy tickets whether Laurie wanted to go or not. Luckily, she did want to go. Seeing Keith Lockhart before he either retires or moves on is something I am glad I got the opportunity to do. If I never saw him, I would have been disappointed with myself

Before I go on with how my night went, here is the important information. Ticket prices range from $39-143. We got second balcony seats pretty close to the stage fir $49. If you take public transportation, the E-Train of the green line drops you off at "Symphony" . The venue is a mere few steps from the train stop. Cameras are not allowed during the concert. I took all of my pictures when there wasn't any music going on. The only time I took out my camera during music was when Santa came out and sang. Most people obeyed the no camera policy. I saw a few people snapping pics from my balcony seat including a woman in the

front row. No one said anything to her.

Obviously, our seats were on the lower end of the cost spectrum. We could not see the entire
orchestra, but we were close and I could see the Maestro very well. The show started at eight. Including the intermission it lasted almost exactly two hours. Most people were dressed fairly nice. Some people were in ties and dresses. Most people seemed to be in button down shirts without ties and sweaters. I wore black pants and a blue button down, I wasn't over or under dressed.

I don't want to ruin it for anyone who might go so I'll be kind of vague. I think listening to the Christmas music is more fun if you don't know what to expect. The first half of the concert is slower. The tone of the songs is more religious. There is one slow song that would be kind of boring, but it is played with visuals on a huge screen. The music is set to the visual and it is (I hate to exaggerate and say breath taking, but awesome doesn't cut it)

The second half is more upbeat. There are more Christmas Carols to sing along with. As I mentioned the fat man in the red suit comes out for a few songs. I'd feel like this is ruining the surprise, but it says it on the website when you go buy tickets. By far I enjoyed the second half more than the first.

I was surprised at the amount of young people there. I bet over half the audience was under thirty five. Of course there were multiple families with kids. However I saw plenty of young couples in their very early twenties on dates. I thought that was kind of neat that it wasn't just old people enjoying the arts and the holidays.  Symphony Hall is decorated beautifully for the holidays. I saw multiple couples taking pictures of themselves near lights and green garland.

I checked the website for one of the upcoming shows. There were still tickets available. If you like Christmas and live music then I suspect the Pops might be something you will enjoy. For me this was the first time ever going to Symphony Hall or seeing the Pops. I might not have enjoyed it nearly as much if I went to a typical classical music concert. Listening and singing along with carols that I know was a really fun experience.

The Choir