CHAPTER ONE GOING LIVE In a vast arena a crowd of thousands waits Clutching glossy tour programs they scope out the arrival of their musical heroes A sudden flash of light greets tonight's audience and so begins one of the best live acts in the world With a drum roll the count in and the first electric chord sounding a deafening roar rolls through the arena Whether you're playing to 20 people or 20 000 there's nothing like the excitement of performing live Just Another Gig For some in the crowd this will be a once Feel good Feeling in a lifetime event a rare chance to see their favorite band perform For the band Anyone who has ever performed live involved it is likely to be one date on a long music will tell you what a great rush it is tour that could take them to all corners of Experiencing the crowd respond to a song the world or solo performance is hugely exhilarating Being part of a musical group be it a rock band hip hop crew or classical orchestra Right Here Right Now gives a feel good vibe If you hit the right Live music events happen every day around notes everyone feels great the world A gig can vary in size and splendor It might be a legendary rock band playing in The Scoop a sports stadium but it's just as likely to be a group of local amateurs playing to a handful Concerts and live performances are a big of people in a coffee shop money maker for the music industry In recent years the live music scene has grown rapidly In 2013 it was estimated that worldwide ticket sales topped a staggering 15
Love of Live Huge Industry It is not just performers who can make a living off of live music The concert industry provides work for millions of people worldwide For many people it is this good feeling that makes performing live so appealing While the best live performers can earn millions of dollars most musicians will barely earn enough to live Many others won't earn a penny from their performances but continue to play gigs in their spare time just for the fun of it Band managers concert promoters sound technicians instrument makers costume designers lighting specialists security staff and bus drivers are all part of the live music industry a When people see their favorite bands play live there's a huge amount of anticipation something musicians can feed off to help them put on a great
GOING LIVE GOING SOLO Anyone with a degree of musical Busker Beginnings talent can perform live You don't One popular way for solo performers to get need to be the best musician in experience is to go out busking This is when people play on street corners or in the world you just need to know subway stations performing short sets of enough chords riffs or solos to songs or instrumentals to passing members get by along with a little stage of the public Buskers can be found showcasing presence Some of the world's their talents in many towns and cities If people like what they hear they sometimes donate best known musicians started out loose change to the musician as a way of this way playing low key gigs showing their appreciation The Road to Stardom Many famous singers and musicians have started their musical careers as weekend buskers British singer songwriter James Morrison first performed as a teenage busker in Cornwall while Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies busked for years before being offered their first recording contract TEHRy Like many musicians James Morrison had to work hard for stardom working his way up from singing on the streets to headlining massive music
YE Free Bon Jovi US rock legend Jon Bon Jovi is a big fan of solo street performances Even though he is now world famous he loves performing surprise shows on street corners On one famous occasion he brought London's Covent Garden to a standstill by playing his hits Open Mic Step It Up Another good way for solo performers to begin is to get a spot at an open mic night These are concerts held at small venues designed to showcase new and inexperienced musicians Anyone can sign up and do a 10 or 15 minute live performance regardless of whether they've played live before After gaining experience on the open mic circuit good solo performers may start to pick up bookings to play at other venues in their town or local music festivals As they gain publicity they may even get asked to play at more widespread locations On the Up Many small venues have a designated open mic night every week There s no limit to how many times you can perform so many musicians return to the same venue on a regular basis If they impress the audience the venue manager might book them to play their own small concert The Scoop us singer songwriter Gavin DeGraw spent years perfecting his performance skills at open mic nights and acoustic music clubs in New York City In 2002 he was discovered by music industry executive Clive Davis and offered a recording contract A year later his debut album Chariot topped the charts Performing at small open mic nights is one way to gain stage experience in front of an
