Missed Opportunities - Pt. 1

Do you think my show sucks?

I couldn’t believe it when I heard those words come through the loudspeakers.

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A few years ago, I was working production for a concert at a county fair. It was one of the rare times I wasn’t playing drums at such an event. The opener was an acoustic act that put on a highly entertaining show. However, I can’t say the same of the headliner who went on immediately afterwards. 

I saw this particular artist once before as the opening act of a tour. He was a pretty good opener. But closing the night at the county fair was a completely different story. This artist had a few radio hits, but the connection wasn’t the same with his live audience. I won’t sugar coat it or beat around the bush; it was an awful performance. He obviously carried some insecurity about it himself. Halfway through the night, when the audience was all sitting down and not at all engaged with the performance, he said, “I hope you guys aren’t bored or think my show sucks.”

My jaw dropped, and my face met my palm. Two things about what he said: One, he had an accurate perception of his own show. Two, even if the audience wasn’t thinking it, they sure were now! The best part of the evening was the end of the set. Not because it was over, but because the band played an impressive instrumental of a Top-40 pop song! Meanwhile, the front man made an awkward exit. He walked to the back of the stage, grabbed his can of LaCroix, took a big gulp and sauntered off the stage. 

Not too long after that experience, the headliner of another show I worked production for said to the audience during his last song, “Stand up, this is my biggest song!” Once again, my jaw dropped. This artist wouldn’t have lost the audience to complete boredom if he had delivered a captivating performance. I wondered how he thought the audience would respond to this closing statement. Maybe they would think, Oh I'm sorry, I didn’t realize this was your biggest song.

Please, don’t be like these artists. Don’t miss opportunities to properly communicate and connect with the audience. Don’t carry insecurity onstage. Rather, own the stage with confidence. However, the only way to effectively do this is to put in the hard work to improve your show. This is a time-consuming process that many artists don’t want to invest in, but in doing so, you will build lasting relationships with your audience and longevity into your career.

Are you interested in diving deeper into these areas for YOUR show? I’d love to get to know you and learn about your journey in music! Let’s schedule a FREE discovery call today!

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