Need lens suggestions for concert photography

[Jambrosio]

I've got a Canon Rebel T3i that I'm looking to upgrade the lens of (right now I'm using an 18-55 mm lens that came with the camera). I'm still pretty new to it, but have gotten the hang of at least the kind of thing that I'm looking to do. Mostly, I use my camera to photograph shows for the music blogs I write for, which means I need to be right up on the stage the entire time to be close enough to get photos and I'd like to get in some more shots from the back of venues/balconies. Could someone suggest a moderately priced telephoto lens for my camera that would help me get these shots?

 

[jaomul]

Welcome to the forum.

If the venues are very well lit, a tamron 70-300mm is a good bet or the excellent for the money Canon 55-250 IS ( which go very cheap second hand). However I suspect that light levels may be low so a faster aperture lends will suit better. The Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 (old version) is good value and good optics. The focus isn't lightening fast but not bad either

 

[Jambrosio]

Light levels aren't terrible (I usually have the shutter speed set somewhere between 1/30 to 1/80). Would a newer (and cheaper) Tamron 70-300mm that only has an aperture range of f4-5.6 suit my purposes well enough?