My first-ever lakeside concert went so well! And that’s not a brag, that’s me expressing extreme relief. Reason being is I thought this was a “I’ll play music while everybody mingles and munches on food” kind of thing, when it actually was positioned as more of a “Turn off your cell phones and don’t talk and also please stare at Brian while he sings and sweats under the hot sun” kind of thing. Here’s a pic (the host even made me a cool stage with canopy and tip jar):
I was pretty nervous for the first few tunes (it felt like everyone was sitting so close and staring into my soul), but everything started to feel more natural and fun soon after. I’ve been trying really hard this year to focus on being present while performing: taking mental pictures of smiles and other reactions, trying to make good eye contact, and not taking the gig - or myself - quite so seriously.
One person, before the gig began, made a comment along the lines of “I’m looking forward to this, I’ve had a tough week.” That really sunk in with me. I get so caught up in my own head about picking patterns and not flubbing the lyrics that sometimes I forget people are there to enjoy themselves. Nobody’s holding auditions for American Idol. There’s little chance I’m going to get heckled. So why not just enjoy the moment?
Here’s one more pic - this time of me on keys:
I got some leads on additional gigs and the good news is I might actually have a new one to announce soon. The bad news? Well, it’s not bad news except that I’ll just have to be patient…as the gig will likely be scheduled for 2026!
Have a great weekend!
Brian
Is there anything you can’t do? And where do you find all this time! 😀