Depending on Covid guidelines permitting, some gigs may be moved outside…OR you might be new to the gigging game and festivals.
Here are a few things that seem obvious but you might not have thought of.
Whether it is part of a line up at a festival, or simply just an outdoor gig at a venue, you can still consider a few things that polish your set and make all the difference. Thinking of the little details, believe it or not, goes a long way.
Here are a few basic questions when helping devise aesthetic ideas and material for live performances:
What time of day is the gig/set?
This indicates not only the light at that time of day and the environment, but also what mood the audience is in. Looking at this as a starter can determine your set list, as well as how you interact with the crowd.
The key with festivals is to look at your place in the line up and adjust accordingly - You can be just as effective as a warm up act as you can as the headliner.
This is where you need to give yourself a reminder that you are there to perform and to entertain the crowd. What do they need at that time?
Is it midday where the crowd need something more chilled to ease them in before the drinks start flowing?
Is it 5pm where they are in a party mood and the sun is setting?
Is it 11pm where they just want to go wild?
If you are playing covers as well as your original material, always consider the time - don’t just throw your usual set in because you don’t know any other tracks…It’s very simple, learn new songs and expand your repertoire so that it fits a variety of dynamics.
If you play to the crowd and they have a great time - you look good!
When you look good, you feel good. When you have more confidence it raises the energy of the performance. Win win all round. You get booked again, you have gained new fans/followers and you move forward, feeling good about what you are doing.
Equally, if you have a gig that is early on and the audience are a bit more subdued, don’t take this as a slur. What do they need at that time to make them have a great experience, one that you have created and been a part of. Don’t make expectations about how they should react and blame them afterwards - Just plan!
The time of day will indicate the light - Is it day, night or dusk?
Hopefully the venue/organisers have booked you in line with what you bring to the flow of the day, as they know what you do…but you must still consider what you are bringing to the event.
Night time - you might want candles, lanterns or fairy lights.
You will perhaps dress accordingly, earlier on you may be more casual and later on more glam.
You might use the daytime festival theme to the max with flower garlands and flowy hippy vibes.
Take cushions and rugs and create your own set on the stage,
It might be a pop festival where you use confetti or bubbles (not if you are in the metal scene, although you never know!).
You can do this on a smaller scale, and you don’t need to break the bank to add to the set up - it’s just thinking at a deeper level than ‘ok, we will turn up and play’
You know your sound - You know how you want to be seen. Do that!
Clearly, you will not always need to be OTT - so the next question is:
What is the venue? What is the festival theme (if any)? What is the vibe?
This ties in with the above. Is it big or small? What is the name of the festival?
Even if it is not on the horizon yet, a good tip will be to look at existing festivals and what you ‘would’ do hypothetically.
“Party in the park” ….Is this going to be a sombre set of ballads? Nope.
“The big feastival” ….It’s families and they are there to enjoy food and drink with a party in the evening, not to hear all your songs with swear words in or want to rock out at 1pm.
“Terminal V Halloween”……Would you dress dark and moody - throw in a spooky song?
As most festivals have a variety of stages, look them up and do your research.
It’s fun to look at the possibilities and invest in your live act as much as you would think through the recording side of things. Those of you who are into ‘manifesting’: create boards so you can see how it looks ‘when’ you do those gigs.
If it’s an intimate acoustic set, you might not need anything additional, just simply you and your material - but it is better be slick and well rehearsed.
If it’s all about the music, make that your thing.
With music you don’t need a gimmick - it can simply be you presenting your songs.
However, just putting the extra thought into it can really give you direction, or confirm you are where you want to be.
Setting up:
Admittedly, you might not have time to set up loads of extra stuff. But you will know your set up time, so be on time ready to go. Have it all ready to go behind/side of the stage.
If you hold up the flow of a festival because you aren’t organised that’s not going to end well.
The organisers have planned everything down to a T because that is what they do - and if you delay that and mess with the flow they won’t thank you (or book you again)
When you are booked and get your stage time, a question to ask straight away is will you get a sound check or a line check?
And when they say ‘yes you get a sound check’ just take it that means a quick one.
You will have limited time (tune up before hand and have everything you need ready)
If you are having a quick “1,2” line check as a larger band, maybe throw in a longer intro to your set so that the techs can adjust your sound before the first song kicks in.
Don’t rely on in ear monitors at festivals, get used to using the wedges. Few people will have the time to fix individual mixes as a festival sound check/line check.
Last minute changes:
Be prepared and adaptable.
The sound will feel different, the energy is different and things can change at the drop of a hat:
The band before are late so you need to go on.
It rains and blows the power generator so you have to go off and start again.
The sun is bright and all of a sudden your outfit is see-through in front of 10,000 people.
Between us, we have seen it all happen to us at MMG.
Now here is the extra bit of help:
IF you are playing at a festival, post it here in the comments so we can shout about you.
IF you have a question about your upcoming summer gigs, post it here and we will reply.
IF you have any festival mishaps that you can share to help others - feel free to share your stories here!
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And we promise not to spam you - it’s a bespoke service here.
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