Sustaining the benefits of live music engagement: immediate and enduring influences of awe at Carnegie Hall’s Well-Being Concerts

Current research is inconclusive about the effects of music on well-being, due to a lack of evidence from rigorous experimental, ecologically-valid research. Here we present the results of a 3-condition 2-week ‘mini’ longitudinal study in which we compared well-being metrics gathered over two weeks of participants who: 1) attended a live music concert with an awe-mindset at Carnegie Hall (n = 30); 2) were additionally reminded of the concert experience weeks after the concert (n = 30); and 3) did not attend the concert (n = 34). Participants who received reminders of the concert reported less stress, anxiety, depression and greater positive emotion and social connection one week after the concert. Participants who did not receive post-concert reminders did not differ significantly from the control group, suggesting that the immediate well-being benefits associated with concert attendance may be more likely to endure when the experience is revisited over time.