I didn’t expect ChatGPT to be good at finding live music, but it turns out it’s better than some apps designed for that purpose, like Apple Music’s new Concert feature.
The recent iOS 26.4 update added a feature to Apple Music that shows you upcoming concerts in your area. That’s not bad and has the advantage that Apple Music knows exactly what you listen to regularly, allowing it to recommend your favorite bands.
Essentially, Apple Music already knows what you like. What it’s not great at is showing you what you don’t know yet. This is where ChatGPT excels. While using it, I found two great new bands that are now part of my regular rotation.
Article continues below
How to Use ChatGPT as a Gig Partner
I live in a pretty big city in the UK, but when it comes to finding bands that play here I’m pretty useless. Usually I find out too late that a band I like is playing and they’re sold out, or I’ve never heard of them and only find out I like them a few weeks after they’re here on a cross-country tour.
Using ChatGPT as your gig search partner is actually surprisingly simple. Just make sure it knows where you are (you can always turn on Location In Settings for that too) and tell him what kind of music you like and see what he recommends.
I used the following prompt, which I now consider my “gig finding” template. You can easily modify it to suit your needs, which probably don’t exactly match those of a Gen X grunge obsessive like me:
“I like bands like Deftones, Die Spitz, Sleep Token and Nirvana. Are there any bands that play in [my city] in the coming months, I should be aware of this?
ChatGPT does a great job of breaking down bands playing locally that I might like into categories like “Must Know (next ~6-10 weeks)”, “Slightly left-field but relevant”, and “Scene/Vibe Nights (honestly underrated).
Thanks to ChatGPT, I discovered two new bands with upcoming shows in my area, and both were added to my regular music rotation. And I even have tickets to their concerts!
A new way to discover music
We all know that AI is actually a very intelligent pattern matching process – it’s not actually thinking about, in the traditional sense, what groups I might like based on what I’ve told it, but this pattern matching that it does is as effective as it appears to be.
The recommendations ChatGPT gave me were actually perfect. I feel like he knows exactly what kind of music I like, and I can continue to discuss the nuances of my musical tastes with him endlessly.
It also suggested a few groups that completely missed the mark, but I could use them as examples to narrow down my choices, and it became even more specific. I can also ask for more details about any groups mentioned and discuss the pros and cons of different rooms. It’s endless.
On the other hand, Apple Music only offers you a few upcoming concerts, and that’s where the story ends.
I already have tickets to two concerts that I wouldn’t have even known about until about a week ago – and I don’t think I’ll start finding live music again otherwise.
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.