Sabrina Carpenter is considering banning phones at her concerts, according to a recent Rolling Stone article. The singer expressed her openness to the idea, mentioning how a Las Vegas show by Silk Sonic, which required attendees to lock up their phones, inspired her. “This will honestly upset my fans, but absolutely,” Carpenter said. “I’ve never had a better experience at a concert,” she added, recalling the atmosphere as reminiscent of the Seventies.
Silk Sonic’s 2022 Las Vegas residency, featuring Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, included a song highlighting the absence of devices with lyrics like “We took your phones away. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
Carpenter noted that growing up with iPhones at shows feels normal but expressed a desire for more in-the-moment concert experiences, saying, “Depending on how long I want to be touring, and what age I am, girl, take those phones away.”
The debate over phone use at concerts has been ongoing. In 2015, Jack White requested no phones during his Lazaretto tour, and by 2019, The Raconteurs required attendees to use locked Yondr pouches. “We think you’ll enjoy looking up from your gadgets for a little while,” the band stated.
Other artists like Tool and A Perfect Circle have also asked fans to refrain from using phones, with A Perfect Circle reportedly ejecting violators. “You ever go to a play or a movie?” guitarist Billy Howerdel remarked, comparing concerts to theatrical experiences where phone use is inappropriate.
More recently, Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood urged fans to put down their phones during the band’s Run for Your Lives World Tour. “We really want fans to enjoy the shows first hand, rather than on their small screens,” Smallwood explained, emphasizing the distraction that phone use causes for both the band and the audience.