Concert Tracker Glossary — every live music term, defined
If you've ever wondered what a "support act" actually is, what a "circle pit" means, or what makes a "headliner" different from an "opener," you're in the right place. Gigvault's concert tracker glossary defines every live music term you'll encounter as a concertgoer — from beginner concepts to deep cuts that only festival veterans know.
This glossary is part of a broader effort to make live music culture accessible. Every term is written from real concert-going experience by Alex, the founder of Gigvault. If a term is missing, send it to hello@gigvault.app and we'll add it.
Core concert tracker concepts
Concert Tracker — A dedicated app or system for logging every concert you've attended. Modern concert trackers like Gigvault auto-fill venues, support acts, and setlists from a database. The opposite of a spreadsheet that gets abandoned in three weeks.
Concert Wrapped — Your annual concert recap, updated after every show you log. Inspired by Spotify Wrapped but built from concerts you actually attended. Total shows, top artists, cities visited, AI Music Identity. Learn more about Concert Wrapped.
Music Identity — An AI-generated summary of who you are as a concert-goer based on your full concert history. Examples: "Berlin-based Metal Loyalist With Festival Pilgrimages" or "Stadium-Only Pop Fan Who Travels Internationally."
Concert Buddies — On Gigvault, the friends you've shared the most concerts with. Surfaces overlap automatically: "You and Lena have been to 8 of the same shows."
Concert Diary — A personal record of every concert you've attended with photos, setlist, ratings, and notes per show. Often called a "Letterboxd for concerts." See Concert Diary.
Setlist Finder — Search tool that finds the exact songs played at any concert past or upcoming, in play order. See Setlist Finder.
Concert Stats — Quantified summary of your live music life: total shows, most-seen artist, cities visited, venues explored, hours of live music. See Concert Stats.
Live music performance terms
Headliner — The main act of a concert or festival night. Usually the biggest name on the poster and the last to perform.
Support Act (also "opener") — A band that performs before the headliner. On Gigvault, support acts count as separately logged concerts — they're often the most underrated discoveries of your concert-going life.
Side Stage — Secondary festival stages where smaller bands or surprise acts perform. Side-stage discoveries often turn into future favorites.
Encore — Additional songs performed after the apparent end of a set, typically after audience applause. The fan tradition of demanding an encore dates back to 18th-century opera.
Setlist — The ordered list of songs a band plays at a specific concert. Preserved in play order on Gigvault's Setlist Finder.
Pyro — Pyrotechnic effects (fireworks, flames, sparks) used during performances. Common at metal, rock, and stadium pop concerts.
Mosh Pit — A crowd area where fans dance aggressively — pushing, shoving, jumping — typically at metal, punk, and hardcore shows.
Circle Pit — A mosh pit variant where fans run in a circular pattern. Often initiated mid-song by a band's request.
Wall of Death — A mosh pit ritual where the crowd splits into two halves that charge at each other when the song drops.
Crowd Surfing — When a fan is passed across the audience from person to person, usually toward the stage.
Tracking & logging terms
Backfilling — The act of adding past concerts to your tracker after the fact. Most Gigvault users backfill 30-50 forgotten shows in their first session. Read the backfill workflow.
Show Logging — The act of recording a concert in your tracker. On Gigvault, it takes ~30 seconds: search artist, tap "I was there," done.
Photo Diary — Photos attached to specific concerts in your tracker (not in a generic camera roll). Years later, every photo has full context — which band, which night.
Tag Friends — Marking friends as attendees of a show. On Gigvault, this creates a shared timeline of every concert you went to together.
Festival Set — A single band's performance at a festival. On Gigvault, each festival set counts as its own logged concert — a 3-day Wacken with 14 sets = 14 concerts in your stats.
Concert Count — The total number of concerts you've attended across all time. Most fans underestimate theirs by 50-100 until they start tracking.
Frequently asked questions about concert terminology
What is a support act in a concert?
A support act is a band that performs before the headliner at a concert. They usually play shorter sets (30-45 minutes vs the headliner's 90+ minutes). Support acts are often less famous than the headliner and many of today's biggest acts started as support. Gigvault tracks support acts as separate logged shows — they count toward your stats just like headliners.
What does Concert Wrapped mean?
Concert Wrapped is your annual recap of every concert you attended, updated continuously throughout the year. Built by Gigvault, it includes total shows, top artists, cities, venues, total live music hours, and an AI-generated Music Identity. See Concert Wrapped in detail.
What is a mosh pit?
A mosh pit is a crowd area at a concert (typically rock, metal, punk, hardcore) where fans dance aggressively — pushing, shoving, jumping. Mosh pits are usually right in front of the stage. They're voluntary — if you don't want to mosh, stay outside the pit.
How many concerts is the average person at?
The average music fan attends 3-5 concerts per year. Dedicated fans hit 20+. Gigvault users average 23 shows per year, with super-fans hitting 40-100+. Read the deep-dive.
What's the difference between a setlist and a tracklist?
A setlist is what a band plays LIVE at a specific concert, in the exact order. A tracklist is the songs on a recorded album. Setlists differ from concert to concert; tracklists are fixed.