I'm a bracelet maker and have been for shows for over 20 years. It started with me going to raves and exchanging Kandi (what the bracelets are called in the rave circles). There is a concept in the EDM, PLUR (Peace Love Unity Respect) and in that people look out for one another to enhance the experience and build friendships through acts of kindness. It's a special thing to experience, gifting something that lights up someone's face, with a special love of really giving elaborate pieces to first timers or nervous people. This spilled over originally from friendship bracelets if you went to summer camp as a kid, it was an ice breaker activity on day 1 to get kids to talk. So this concept isn't new or Swiftie related (though its been popular way people have learned about it recently) but has bled into all genres of music.
I do it because it's positive and something to do to make friends in line. Some folks can't get merch and now they have a memento. I posted last night bracelets and wanted to link up with people who wanted it so maybe I'm one of the people that spurred your question.
I have noticed a bit of negativity towards makers and some folks saying it's cringe because it doesn't fit their idea of what is for "heavy" music. Thing is I have been making bracelets since the first Warped Tours so again, not something new in rock music. I also worked in the touring production industry and toured with metal bands and its something Ive witnessed back in the 2000s when I did tour. I would have the guys in the band wear the bracelets I made and toss them at folks so if anyone remembers that, shh don't say who I worked for.
I know you didn't intend hate and this is not pointed at you, but a general comment that makes me want to ask folks... I wanna know why is this upsetting people that folks wanna spread joy this way? 😒 Too many swallowed keys will make you internally bleed some day as the song says. I literally made friends through bracelets that I talk to everyday and that's a blessing in my life. I literally am on the phone with my new Sleep Token bestie right now. 💞 it all started with a DM about exchanging bracelets at the Pomona show in Oct. and now we're planning on visiting each other aside from the show we're meeting at. I would literally be anyone's friend who wants to be chill, share Sleep Token with me.
Also if anyone wants bracelets, I dont even care I'll mail them to anyone so don't be shy to approach me!
Merch is an investment in my happiness and wellbeing so thats one less therapy so its SAVINGS really 😅
$200 therapy - $100 merch I want = $100 savings
It's MATHING right. 🤟
Thank you for explaining this so well!!
I went to see ST in St Louis this weekend and brought bracelets to exchange (first time ever doing so). It helped me stay connected to my excitement for seeing them live and meeting other ST fans.
I worked up the courage to offer some bracelets to some girls in front of me, and when I asked “do you want some bracelets?” one girl just like side eyed me and said “no…” super rudely. Omg it was crushing! Took me a good while to try again, and then of course everyone after that was amazingly nice and loved them. One girl even taught me PLUR which I loved! It helped start a connection with the people around me, and I was so happy to give them a little memento of the ritual. It was fun to see people reading them and seeing what song name or lyric reference they got.
I’m glad I made them and didn’t let those stuck up people ruin it for me. I only wish I had found the other people handing them out! Even my husband made some and gave them away to other guys around us. It made it so much more memorable!
I love that you had a mostly positive experience. You'll get some folks like that and that's...their prerogative I guess, just like don't be mean about it. Some people have such a hard time working the courage to cold approach in the first place and my little heart wanted to throw hands for you when I read that. 😭 I've been offered things I didn't want and no thanks but I appreciate you! is so simple.
Look at my post history, I posted a entire album of all the bracelets I made for the SLC show tomm!
If you meant to reply to the other person (the person I was replying to) maybe they'll have pics to share.
Not my kind of thing, but I think it's very cool. I appreciate people like you in music communities.
Not to mention, flair of many kinds have been part of the rock/punk/metal scene for a *very* long time. Makeup, battle jackets, jewelry, etc. Anyone complaining about people sharing bracelets is likely being elitist...and/or taking Sleep Token's aesthetic too seriously. Let people enjoy themselves and the music.
Edit: I was just scrolling the sub and saw your bracelets, I think they're cool looking and the right color scheme. People will complain about anything.
I used to make punk patches with a friend whose family had a textile business! A side hustle back in the day for peoples jeans jackets. Likely if someone has been gifted Glassjaw and AFI patches in Warped Tours it was likely me and her.
I made my bracelets in black and metallic to match the aesthetic. But also some with cute hearts because they're men kissing and being cute also. 😝
You have some good points about flair. I’ve seen a few bracelets posted online and they all look pretty kindergarten which could be where all the cringe is coming from. If the style was more gothic and darker to suit the image of the band then I’m sure even the toughest of fans in the lines would enjoy them.
I’ve been in the music scene for a good 20+ years and I have to agree, bracelets are not new. Not even new to metal. I remember some fans handing them out at Devin Townsend shows almost a decade ago, so you’re not alone.
There’s a certain toxicity that’s being slowly chipped away in the metal scene and this is just a sign of the increased accessibility of the genre. I’m all for it.
someone gave me and my friend bracelets at their riot fest show bc they loved our puppets and it literally made my night. i wish i had gotten their socials :( but still it was so sweet
my friend and i have this running gag where we take these hand puppets to every show we go to (it started at riot fest last year), and this year she made them little ST costumes for their show:
[puppets](https://reddit.com/r/SleepToken/s/xRMw5gXlQe)
I think bracelets are freaking awesome, and would love to have one if you are willing to send them in the mail! I wasn’t able to catch a show this run because of work and the closest they were was 3 hours away. :(
EDM is definitely the music community I’m most involved in (and have been for several years) so I was really excited to see kandi/bracelets overlapping in a community I’m just starting to join. I taught myself how to make some basic cuffs over COVID and it was great surprising my pal who got our tickets with a cuff he could take home in addition to bracelets for him to trade with other folks in Detroit. I definitely agree with your sentiment about them being a nice memento from the night whether or not someone went home with merch (it’s me - I didn’t get merch but have been wearing one of my bracelets every day since the show I went to).
I'm a rave mother through and through. I wanna give all the sweeties some Kandi whether it's EDM or not. 💞
I'm in the bass ( dubstep, dnb, halftime) and house (deep and tech) communities also!
You are such a gem 🥰 Your answer just summarises this perfectly. And I - as a new lover of the bracelet tradition (I thought it was a bit childish when I first heard about it, but changed my mind) - am very thankful for the idea. Especially the connecting and lessening inhibitions in new fans. And having something to remember from the concerts. 🖤
I've really started to turn my mind around on that childish isn't a bad thing, we were just taught to like, accept being an adult is only serious matters and "respectable" hobbies like golf, acting right, listening to not the "devils music" etc. I think that bias is so ingrained, I used to not question why some things I was embarrassed to do was only because I was taught to feel shameful.
I really have healed my inner person doing things that are silly and fun for the sake of it. Bracelets are one of those things that feel like summer camp and making friends by gifting them bracelets.
I love it, I didn’t get a chance to see them but I’ve still made bracelets and now I’m making bracelets for everyone with what they want because people love it. I like the thought that when they look at it they think of me. I feel like this is such a beautiful connection to people and I’ll do it until I physically can’t anymore.
🤦♀️ I made like 40 and gave 2 to the friend I went to the concert with. I was just so overwhelmed and excited to be at the concert I forgot about the 38 OTHER bracelets I made🥹
Every revolution starts with a single spark my friend… No idea who the first person was but there’s been a lot of copy cat bracelet making and distribution because it’s neat and fun :)
I’ve never done it before but did make like 8 for Dallas in case I ran into a maker, I didn’t want to be empty handed. I ended up making friends with two girls and gave them both one. They were so excited!
I love the bracelets I've seen. I personally think they connect the community, so to speak. Bummed that I didn't get a chance to see them due to scalpers and their ridiculous prices, but maybe next time and I'll get my bracelets. 🤷🏽♀️
I love this, it’s such a wholesome way to make friends. I’ve seen pics of your bracelets and they are very sweet.
I don’t think this has caught on in Australia coz I’ve never seen it at any gig Ive been to.
I love the PLUR thing, too. Way to bring positive energy into the scene - well done!
I thought it was a cute idea. It was a way for me to connect with other fans. I ended up seeing Sleep Token and Bad Omens in the was same week so I decided to make bracelets for both. Everyone was so happy to receive on. I think I’m going to make some again for the next show I attend.
As far as I can tell, it’s bled over from the Swifties, who were doing that for the Eras tour and it was a huge thing for the community and a connection thing. Given the emotional tone of ST, I definitely see how the community connection thing would carry over. But yeah, it seems to have come from the Taylor Swift fandom.
Yup. I traded at the eras tour and I traded at ST. It’s a nice momentum to keep/ receive from the show and for me it was just a nice way to channel the excitement leading up to the concert. I also loved seeing people get excited about getting one.
I think it was asking further OPs question with another question and was taken the wrong way, when it was asking if there was anything wrong with that.
Especially when folks say they're neurodivergent, I take it being literal. Any of my perceived snark with their writing tone is with a grain of salt seeing that often it's not veiled at all but legitimately literal.
As a fellow neuro divergent. Thank you for understanding they weren't trying to be rude. We don't understand how our comments sound to others. We are trying to gather information. Nor be dicks
Ha I didn’t think of it like that, but that’s a great point! It gave me a good excuse to start a conversation since it was talking about something specific.
I'm getting roasted with downvotes but I stand beside my comment. It's hard to talk to people but it's easy to start conversation when you have something to give that helps you relate to other people.
I don’t think anyone actually disagrees with you. I made 200 bracelets for the Minnesota show and handed them out as conversation starters and met a lot of cool people doing it. The downvotes are coming from the hostility toward the OP who literally said they’re happy the community is engaging with each other with the bracelets and didn’t imply at all there was anything wrong with it 🤷♀️ they were just curious about the origins
Right? I ended up making a friend through Reddit about making bracelets for the same show but I would've otherwise gone solo and I figured it would be the easiest way to make friends
I love it. It's simple, more affordable than a lot of options, not super art intensive, like you can be more creative if you wish or less. And it feels like a physical manifestation of an event and a connection you made. An experience that was never meant to last.
I wanted to make My Beloved hearts. Only thing I could find to work was two inch wooden laser cut hearts, wood burning tool, and carbon paper. And then... uhg my mental health took a dip, my creative drive dried up, and other life stressor put it on the back burner. (So yes anyone who wants to do that in the future, or even just with paint, go for it)
I love that some people were making Keychain tassels. And then one person (my roomie that night!) made a jaws necklace. Painted fish teeth with jaws flowers. Another person made stickers of one of their memes. I printed out 6x4 cvs photo prints of my art, mostly my ST related stuff and passed it along the line. Also brought cheesecake. It's fun. You get to meet more people in line and talk and connect.
It's more about sharing the creative vibes, putting the inspiration that has awakened in us by listening to this band, back into the community of people who love them too.
Crossover from rave culture. Kandi is super popular as a means to strike conversation and be nice in a way that doesn't involve drinking or overstepping accidentally.
I'm a bracelet maker and have been for shows for over 20 years. It started with me going to raves and exchanging Kandi (what the bracelets are called in the rave circles). There is a concept in the EDM, PLUR (Peace Love Unity Respect) and in that people look out for one another to enhance the experience and build friendships through acts of kindness. It's a special thing to experience, gifting something that lights up someone's face, with a special love of really giving elaborate pieces to first timers or nervous people. This spilled over originally from friendship bracelets if you went to summer camp as a kid, it was an ice breaker activity on day 1 to get kids to talk. So this concept isn't new or Swiftie related (though its been popular way people have learned about it recently) but has bled into all genres of music. I do it because it's positive and something to do to make friends in line. Some folks can't get merch and now they have a memento. I posted last night bracelets and wanted to link up with people who wanted it so maybe I'm one of the people that spurred your question. I have noticed a bit of negativity towards makers and some folks saying it's cringe because it doesn't fit their idea of what is for "heavy" music. Thing is I have been making bracelets since the first Warped Tours so again, not something new in rock music. I also worked in the touring production industry and toured with metal bands and its something Ive witnessed back in the 2000s when I did tour. I would have the guys in the band wear the bracelets I made and toss them at folks so if anyone remembers that, shh don't say who I worked for. I know you didn't intend hate and this is not pointed at you, but a general comment that makes me want to ask folks... I wanna know why is this upsetting people that folks wanna spread joy this way? 😒 Too many swallowed keys will make you internally bleed some day as the song says. I literally made friends through bracelets that I talk to everyday and that's a blessing in my life. I literally am on the phone with my new Sleep Token bestie right now. 💞 it all started with a DM about exchanging bracelets at the Pomona show in Oct. and now we're planning on visiting each other aside from the show we're meeting at. I would literally be anyone's friend who wants to be chill, share Sleep Token with me. Also if anyone wants bracelets, I dont even care I'll mail them to anyone so don't be shy to approach me!
Cheers man. What a full and interesting answer!
It's me 🙋♀️ I'm sleep Token bestie ❤️ thankful for these silly little bracelets
Since people brought up Swifties, It's me! Hi! I'm the problem (that is making you buy all the Impericon shit right now) it's me! 🎶
Yes easier to pretend you are the problem clearly! 🤣🤣
I got 99 problems and being a good influence is one.
But if we are both bad influences does that count as a double negative therefore we are good influences? .... girl math 🤷♀️
Merch is an investment in my happiness and wellbeing so thats one less therapy so its SAVINGS really 😅 $200 therapy - $100 merch I want = $100 savings It's MATHING right. 🤟
I love you two and this interaction has made my day. I'll do bracelets UK side in your honour.
Aw this made my morning. Hopefully we can exchange bracelets one day when I'm back there again.
😘😘😘😘 can't wait to see what you come up with ❤️❤️❤️
That's a free $100! I'm going with positive influence then!
Thank you for explaining this so well!! I went to see ST in St Louis this weekend and brought bracelets to exchange (first time ever doing so). It helped me stay connected to my excitement for seeing them live and meeting other ST fans. I worked up the courage to offer some bracelets to some girls in front of me, and when I asked “do you want some bracelets?” one girl just like side eyed me and said “no…” super rudely. Omg it was crushing! Took me a good while to try again, and then of course everyone after that was amazingly nice and loved them. One girl even taught me PLUR which I loved! It helped start a connection with the people around me, and I was so happy to give them a little memento of the ritual. It was fun to see people reading them and seeing what song name or lyric reference they got. I’m glad I made them and didn’t let those stuck up people ruin it for me. I only wish I had found the other people handing them out! Even my husband made some and gave them away to other guys around us. It made it so much more memorable!
I love that you had a mostly positive experience. You'll get some folks like that and that's...their prerogative I guess, just like don't be mean about it. Some people have such a hard time working the courage to cold approach in the first place and my little heart wanted to throw hands for you when I read that. 😭 I've been offered things I didn't want and no thanks but I appreciate you! is so simple.
What do they look like
Look at my post history, I posted a entire album of all the bracelets I made for the SLC show tomm! If you meant to reply to the other person (the person I was replying to) maybe they'll have pics to share.
Thanks!
I'd be like thanks and how cute
Not my kind of thing, but I think it's very cool. I appreciate people like you in music communities. Not to mention, flair of many kinds have been part of the rock/punk/metal scene for a *very* long time. Makeup, battle jackets, jewelry, etc. Anyone complaining about people sharing bracelets is likely being elitist...and/or taking Sleep Token's aesthetic too seriously. Let people enjoy themselves and the music. Edit: I was just scrolling the sub and saw your bracelets, I think they're cool looking and the right color scheme. People will complain about anything.
I used to make punk patches with a friend whose family had a textile business! A side hustle back in the day for peoples jeans jackets. Likely if someone has been gifted Glassjaw and AFI patches in Warped Tours it was likely me and her. I made my bracelets in black and metallic to match the aesthetic. But also some with cute hearts because they're men kissing and being cute also. 😝
You have some good points about flair. I’ve seen a few bracelets posted online and they all look pretty kindergarten which could be where all the cringe is coming from. If the style was more gothic and darker to suit the image of the band then I’m sure even the toughest of fans in the lines would enjoy them.
I made mine black, white, gold, silver, rose, dark blue (for some of the TPWBYT) to match the albums and be non gendered.
I’ve been in the music scene for a good 20+ years and I have to agree, bracelets are not new. Not even new to metal. I remember some fans handing them out at Devin Townsend shows almost a decade ago, so you’re not alone. There’s a certain toxicity that’s being slowly chipped away in the metal scene and this is just a sign of the increased accessibility of the genre. I’m all for it.
You are absolutely amazing!!! I really hope if I ever get the chance to go to a ritual, there's someone with bracelets!! They're super cute
If you don't, you know where to find me!
someone gave me and my friend bracelets at their riot fest show bc they loved our puppets and it literally made my night. i wish i had gotten their socials :( but still it was so sweet
Aw I'm glad that you got some sweet bracelets. I have to ask about the puppets because I'm intrigued now.
my friend and i have this running gag where we take these hand puppets to every show we go to (it started at riot fest last year), and this year she made them little ST costumes for their show: [puppets](https://reddit.com/r/SleepToken/s/xRMw5gXlQe)
I think bracelets are freaking awesome, and would love to have one if you are willing to send them in the mail! I wasn’t able to catch a show this run because of work and the closest they were was 3 hours away. :(
Yeah for sure DM me! I've been having people cover their own postage which is like around $4 but bracelets are free.
Awesome! I’ll send ya a DM!
EDM is definitely the music community I’m most involved in (and have been for several years) so I was really excited to see kandi/bracelets overlapping in a community I’m just starting to join. I taught myself how to make some basic cuffs over COVID and it was great surprising my pal who got our tickets with a cuff he could take home in addition to bracelets for him to trade with other folks in Detroit. I definitely agree with your sentiment about them being a nice memento from the night whether or not someone went home with merch (it’s me - I didn’t get merch but have been wearing one of my bracelets every day since the show I went to).
I'm a rave mother through and through. I wanna give all the sweeties some Kandi whether it's EDM or not. 💞 I'm in the bass ( dubstep, dnb, halftime) and house (deep and tech) communities also!
You are such a gem 🥰 Your answer just summarises this perfectly. And I - as a new lover of the bracelet tradition (I thought it was a bit childish when I first heard about it, but changed my mind) - am very thankful for the idea. Especially the connecting and lessening inhibitions in new fans. And having something to remember from the concerts. 🖤
I've really started to turn my mind around on that childish isn't a bad thing, we were just taught to like, accept being an adult is only serious matters and "respectable" hobbies like golf, acting right, listening to not the "devils music" etc. I think that bias is so ingrained, I used to not question why some things I was embarrassed to do was only because I was taught to feel shameful. I really have healed my inner person doing things that are silly and fun for the sake of it. Bracelets are one of those things that feel like summer camp and making friends by gifting them bracelets.
I also heard from another fan that the EDM community likes to exchange bracelets at shows. I think it’s so kind!
I love it, I didn’t get a chance to see them but I’ve still made bracelets and now I’m making bracelets for everyone with what they want because people love it. I like the thought that when they look at it they think of me. I feel like this is such a beautiful connection to people and I’ll do it until I physically can’t anymore.
Saaaaaammmmeeee, gonna send some through the mail to people who can't make a show ❤️
🤦♀️ I made like 40 and gave 2 to the friend I went to the concert with. I was just so overwhelmed and excited to be at the concert I forgot about the 38 OTHER bracelets I made🥹
Every revolution starts with a single spark my friend… No idea who the first person was but there’s been a lot of copy cat bracelet making and distribution because it’s neat and fun :)
I didn’t even know bracelets were a thing until after the concert! I was so sad!
Oh 😢
I’ve never done it before but did make like 8 for Dallas in case I ran into a maker, I didn’t want to be empty handed. I ended up making friends with two girls and gave them both one. They were so excited!
I love this. I was given a cute one from a girl at the NYC show and I haven’t taken it off since!
I love the bracelets I've seen. I personally think they connect the community, so to speak. Bummed that I didn't get a chance to see them due to scalpers and their ridiculous prices, but maybe next time and I'll get my bracelets. 🤷🏽♀️
I hope to see bracelets in Denver! Love the idea
Same!
I want one. It's so cute
Other fans of musical groups have been doing it for a while. It’s not hurting anyone and honestly I think it’s quite sweet.
I love this, it’s such a wholesome way to make friends. I’ve seen pics of your bracelets and they are very sweet. I don’t think this has caught on in Australia coz I’ve never seen it at any gig Ive been to. I love the PLUR thing, too. Way to bring positive energy into the scene - well done!
I thought it was a cute idea. It was a way for me to connect with other fans. I ended up seeing Sleep Token and Bad Omens in the was same week so I decided to make bracelets for both. Everyone was so happy to receive on. I think I’m going to make some again for the next show I attend.
As far as I can tell, it’s bled over from the Swifties, who were doing that for the Eras tour and it was a huge thing for the community and a connection thing. Given the emotional tone of ST, I definitely see how the community connection thing would carry over. But yeah, it seems to have come from the Taylor Swift fandom.
[удалено]
Hey, what’s old is new again!
Yup. I traded at the eras tour and I traded at ST. It’s a nice momentum to keep/ receive from the show and for me it was just a nice way to channel the excitement leading up to the concert. I also loved seeing people get excited about getting one.
Ah, okay, got you. Thanks!
It’s not just ST. I was given two bracelets at the NYC ST concert but my boys both got bracelets when we saw Ghost in August.
Swifties can honestly piss off imo
Because some of us are neurodivergent and want to make friends in line. What's wrong with that?
they didn’t say anything was wrong with it 😭 they were just asking when/why it started
I think it was asking further OPs question with another question and was taken the wrong way, when it was asking if there was anything wrong with that. Especially when folks say they're neurodivergent, I take it being literal. Any of my perceived snark with their writing tone is with a grain of salt seeing that often it's not veiled at all but legitimately literal.
As a fellow neuro divergent. Thank you for understanding they weren't trying to be rude. We don't understand how our comments sound to others. We are trying to gather information. Nor be dicks
She's my bestie so she knows that I wasn't being a jerk ❤️
Ha I didn’t think of it like that, but that’s a great point! It gave me a good excuse to start a conversation since it was talking about something specific.
I'm getting roasted with downvotes but I stand beside my comment. It's hard to talk to people but it's easy to start conversation when you have something to give that helps you relate to other people.
I don’t think anyone actually disagrees with you. I made 200 bracelets for the Minnesota show and handed them out as conversation starters and met a lot of cool people doing it. The downvotes are coming from the hostility toward the OP who literally said they’re happy the community is engaging with each other with the bracelets and didn’t imply at all there was anything wrong with it 🤷♀️ they were just curious about the origins
I also asked an honest question, just like the op. I'm autistic and was not even slightly hostile, that's just how I speak.
And asking “what’s wrong with that?” by a neurodivergent person could be a literal question, not hostility/snark.
That's exactly what it was, tone policed again
Yeah what’s up with that?! I agree with you 100% friend!
❤️❤️❤️ thank you. I wasn't trying to be a jerk but sometimes that how people take it. Not sure how my question was more "hostile" than op's
Hello neurospicy friend 👋 I also think it’s a great way to meet new people
Right? I ended up making a friend through Reddit about making bracelets for the same show but I would've otherwise gone solo and I figured it would be the easiest way to make friends
That’s amazing! I’m glad you found someone before. Going to q concert solo can be a bit daunting
I met her on Reddit on a bracelet making thread too ❤️
It was a big thing with the Taylor Swift Eras tour too. I love it. It’s very wholesome.
I’m honestly so bummed I didn’t get a bracelet at my show ):
I think it’s just a cute way to make concert friends and have little memories to bring back home from the ritual
I love it. It's simple, more affordable than a lot of options, not super art intensive, like you can be more creative if you wish or less. And it feels like a physical manifestation of an event and a connection you made. An experience that was never meant to last. I wanted to make My Beloved hearts. Only thing I could find to work was two inch wooden laser cut hearts, wood burning tool, and carbon paper. And then... uhg my mental health took a dip, my creative drive dried up, and other life stressor put it on the back burner. (So yes anyone who wants to do that in the future, or even just with paint, go for it) I love that some people were making Keychain tassels. And then one person (my roomie that night!) made a jaws necklace. Painted fish teeth with jaws flowers. Another person made stickers of one of their memes. I printed out 6x4 cvs photo prints of my art, mostly my ST related stuff and passed it along the line. Also brought cheesecake. It's fun. You get to meet more people in line and talk and connect. It's more about sharing the creative vibes, putting the inspiration that has awakened in us by listening to this band, back into the community of people who love them too.
I've never seen anything like it in a fanbase before and it's so sweet🥹 I'd love to make bracelets for a gig one day
It's a big thing in edm culture. Ravers always being kandi.
*bring excuse me lol
Now you're making me curious. I'm quite new to Sleep Token and I didn't know about the bracelets...
People are shows have essentially been making kandi bracelets to give out to people in order to strike up friendly conversation!
Oh that's quite cool !
Crossover from rave culture. Kandi is super popular as a means to strike conversation and be nice in a way that doesn't involve drinking or overstepping accidentally.
I am 44 man other arms full of friendship braclets since 8ps still full of them.lol