How Music Sounds Better When You’re High

Have you ever been curious about why your interaction with live music seems enhanced at times when you’re high? If so, you’re not alone. As the leading pot shop in Steamboat Springs, we often get feedback about how incredible last night’s show sounded. It might go without saying, but many people have experienced a deeper connection with music after getting stoned. It may not surprise you to find out that cannabis has a definite impact on your senses, specifically your hearing.

Chances are that you’ve probably already experienced the difference between attending a live show while stoned versus those times when you’ve abstained. Add to that how live music festivals and venues have evolved in the last decade (think Sphere Las Vegas) and it’s natural to understand how marijuana might fit right in as part of your pre-show routine.

It seems you can’t hardly attend any live music venue these days without noticing that distinct skunky mist wafting over the crowd. When examining the correlation between cannabis and music, let’s simply quote performers Stardust and say “The music sounds better with you.” But why is that? Let’s examine.

Your Brain On Cannabis

From a biology perspective, the typical “zoning out” phase of a concert that you’ve probably experienced while high is actually a flood of neurotransmitters in your brain. These signals are what tell your body that everything is simply wonderful and provide that euphoric feeling of overarching goodness.

The primary chemical released throughout your body after getting stoned is dopamine, which is known to be part of your body’s natural “reward system.” Dopamine is your body’s way of inherently encouraging behaviors that help you survive and thrive. Consider this your body’s pleasure release, and the biological way your brain triggers your body to continue doing whatever activity you’re participating in at that moment. Mundane examples of this survival mechanism include activities like eating, drinking, and reproducing.

When you correlate your brain’s release of dopamine after consuming cannabis with the act of enjoying live music, it quickly becomes apparent how this direct association is what enhances your entertainment. That’s not to say that music itself doesn’t trigger the release of dopamine throughout your body. But when you couple that transmission with the flood of dopamine that comes with smoking pot, you’ve now multiplied the intensity of the chemical response and activated your pleasure center more greatly.

The cannabinoids you consume when smoking weed, dabbing concentrate, or digesting a THC-infused edible bind to receptors in your brain. These receptors trigger your body’s reward system with a steady flow of that all too glorious dopamine. The outcome of this is a noticeable difference in how we perceive the pleasure of music, with some going as far as to report a form of synesthesia.

Music and Cannabis Effect Our Brains Similarly

Studies have affirmed that there are many common therapeutic benefits between the use of marijuana and listening to music. Examples of this include reduced anxiety, deeper relaxation, and even pain relief.

A 2023 NIH study published in the National Library of Medicine demonstrates a significant reduction in the intensity of pain when listening to music, as well as the analgesic effects of music after medical procedures such as a surgery. Now consider the pain-relieving properties provided by the use of cannabis and it’s easy to understand the entourage effect you might experience when combining both music and weed.

Other notable reports go on to examine the positive effects one might sense from combining music and cannabinoids. One such report comes from a story published in Marijuana Moment examining how marijuana enhances the enjoyment of music. Some key takeaways found a distinct correlation between music and marijuana including “enhanced hearing sensitivity, new sound perspectives, and changes in audiovisual perception, rhythm, and timing.”

Let’s further examine why concerts simply sound better when you’re high. Here are some of the potential effects you might anticipate when passing around a joint at your next show.

Slowing of Time

When you’re high, time often seems to pass more slowly. So what does a delayed perception of time have to do with the enjoyment of music?

Neuroscience gives us a glimpse into how periods of intense perceptual engagement, like listening to music, affects the prefrontal cortex in one’s brain. This is the area of the brain we know manages our introspection, and it begins to slow or altogether shut down when hearing intense sounds or music.

This is where the term “losing yourself” might stem from. The perceived slowing of time is essentially a signal that your self-related prefrontal cortex is handing over the controls to other areas of your brain more centered on perceptual awareness. At moments when time seems to “stand still,” people often report how they’ve achieved a Zen-like state of mind.

More Focus & Higher Concentration

With increased focus on the notes and melodies heard at a live show, music tends to sound clearer and more vibrant. As the main psychoactive component of cannabis, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has been linked to one’s ability to concentrate on individual stimuli more deeply. When digesting music and cannabis simultaneously you are essentially triggering your body’s mesolimbic dopamine system. This in turn begins to chemically reinforce two extremely gratifying behaviors which are listening to music and being stoned.

These anecdotal shifts in perception are said to interfere with one’s formation of short-term memories, which may sound negative. But consider how this actually allows a concertgoer to focus more entirely on the present moment versus the subconscious need to search long-term memory to predict what happens next. The outcome is a truly blissful state of being pleasantly engulfed in the present moment of sound.

Deeper Connection with the Artist(s)

It’s widely accepted that cannabis use can be linked to stronger group connections. Intimacy and connectivity with others can be induced with both the consumption of cannabis and a shared musical environment. Emotions of happiness and communal experience naturally tend to increase among the audience as well as the musician(s) performing on stage.

In fact, the weed you packed for the show has been linked to heightened physical sensations which in turn can lead to deeper connections among individuals. In large group settings like a live music concert, it’s natural to believe how these shared connections can quickly envelope an entire venue including the artists creating the sound.

Ways to Consume at a Concert

At this point you may be curious to explore your options for consuming cannabis at the next live show you attend. Here are a few of the Billo Dispensary’s top-picks.

Flower – The old standby. Concertgoers have been sneaking in joints, one-hitters, and pipes to shows for decades. And we’ve also seen and perhaps even participated in creating the large smoke plumes that tend to drift over the crowd, especially among the front few rows. Talk about creating a shared community among your seat mates! There’s nothing that can more quickly create a common bond than passing a spliff to the person next to you. Just be cognoscente to the fact that not everyone around you might enjoy the scent. Respect those that surround you, read the crowd, and consume appropriately.

Vape – No more fretting about who has the lighter or where to respectfully ash. The technology of today’s vapes makes it super-easy to pass the goodness with no mess or fuss. Often the only thing you’ll need to do to activate your puff is to hold down a button on the vape pen and behold how the concentrate vaporizes. One deep inhale might just be all it takes to maximize your enjoyment of the music for the next hour or so. Better yet, vapes are discreet, easy to carry in your pocket, and effortlessly wiped clean when sharing with strangers.

Edibles – Talk about a delicious way to enjoy the show! There are a lot of people who prefer edible cannabis over smoke because of the gradual onset. Chewing a well-timed gummy before the show or during the opener will often lead to a heightened crescendo at the height of the set. Just be sure not to overdo it and ruin your night. Edibles often take a bit longer to metabolize than inhaled cannabis, so the advice is always to start slow, be patient, and enjoy the ride.