Miranda Lambert stops live performance to address fans taking selfie’s during a song.

Hooooooo boy was this getting some attention on social media yesterday and today. We were talking about it on the morning show today and had a bunch of different takes on the text line from different people. I think this is one of those topics that isn’t going to have one opinion that everyone can agree on, so I’ll give my thoughts in no particular order:

• Whenever I’m at a concert of a game, I will generally take one picture, and post on FB and Instagram that I’m at said concert or game (because did it even really happen if you don’t post about it?). That’s it. My phone is in my pocket for the rest of whatever show I’m at. One picture for the memory. I’m never going to go back and watch video of my favorite song being performed, I don’t understand why people do that, but their life is not my life.
• ^Related, if you are a person who is on your phone the ENTIRE time at a show, know that you are annoying most of the people around you. Even though I’m a one picture and done person, I do understand that people are going to take more than one picture, and people are going to take video of their favorite song/songs. That’s fine, I get it. But I fundamentally don’t understand going to a concert and taking pictures, video, and posting on socials for 90% of the show. There’s probably going to be an age gap on this particular point, people 30 years and older will feel one way, and 30 years and younger will feel another way.
• In regards to Miranda stopping the show to address these fans: I am certain that it annoys artists when they see people on their phones during the entirety of a concert. Totally understandable. But I think it’s also a fair point to say that concert ticket prices are BONKERS and if I’m paying $250+ to get good seats for a show, I should have the right to take some pictures or video without getting called out by the artist I paid to see.
• Added context for this particular video: The song she was performing, ‘Tin Man,’ is a slow and emotional song. I do think that matters. If you’re on your phone, hamming it up for pictures or a live stream or whatever, and an artist is trying to deliver an emotional performance, chances are that if they notice you, they’re going to be even more agitated.

Long story long, I think in general we’ve accepted as a culture that phones are going to be a part of concerts*. That’s just the way it is. If you go to a show, someone around you is going to be on their phone taking pictures and video. If that annoys you, then you’re willingly entering into a situation where you’re going to be annoyed.

That said, it’s important for people to stop living their entire lives in their phones and live in the moment once in a while. If you’re someone who wants to take videos, and take pictures, and post to Instagram or FB or Tik Tok or Threads or whatever, try to be aware of the people around you, and the musician on stage, and limit it as much as you can. I think I can live with a 15% rule. Most of the time you’re at a concert for about three-ish hours. Try to be on your phone for a max of 15% of that time. That should give you plenty of time to capture what you want to capture, and not get anyone else’s blood pressure boiling too high.

*There are a TON of stand up comics who now ban phones at their shows for a variety of reasons. Now some musicians are adding that layer as well. I have no problem with that. I haven’t personally been to anything like that, but it would be interesting to be in a room with 10,000 other people and no one is on a phone. That probably hasn’t happened for me in about 20 years.

PS: My wife and I went to a Jason Isbell show last fall and he did pretty much the exact same thing that Miranda did during his encore. He stopped during a song (similarly a slow, emotional song) and basically begged the crowd to put down their phones for ONE song and just enjoy the moment for 4 minutes. Most people put them away and he did restart the song.

Double PS: If you are taking video at a show, MAKE SURE YOUR FLASH IS OFF. Please and thank you.