MY TOUR RECAP
As some of you know, I just finished a tour with Jeremy Shada, and if you were following along on Instagram, you know that it was a blast! He is such a talented individual and a great friend, so hitting a few cities and opening up for him was a dream. That being said, it was a bit of an adjustment since it’s been years since I went on tour. Now that I’m in a different stage of life, here are some of the highlights, lessons I learned and experiences that stuck out to me this time around.
On The Road Again
When you haven’t done something you truly love in a while it can be easy to forget over time just how much you love it, until you throw yourself back in it. For me, that’s how I felt about performing live in front of people for the first time in 3 years. I really missed playing shows. It was a wave of not only excitement, but almost this comfort of being exactly where I wanted to be. I just have so much fun putting on a show.
About 4 hours before my first show in LA, I started to feel the anxiety creep up. Would I remember how to move around on a stage? How would my cardio and breathing be once my heart rate is already up? Then I did my vocal warmups and took a quiet moment to get ready and I started to feel more settled. Before I knew it, it was time to go. I walked onto the stage in a pink mini dress with white boots and kicked things off with Play It Cool. By the third song I started to feel way more comfortable and then we were just having fun. I wasn’t overthinking the way my hands moved or what I was saying in between songs. I was truly just having the best time and somewhere around then I had a moment where I remembered why I did this for so long before.
Being support on a tour, in a lot of ways, there’s less pressure. A shorter set, later soundcheck, no heavy pressure to fill a room, but it could also mean you are playing for a lot of new people that may know nothing about you. In 30 minutes, you hope to not only have created a great time for everyone, but maybe even have some people go listen and support your music after. When I walked on to the stage for the first show I felt a lot of kind but also “we don’t know you” eyes on me. But by the last song we were all singing about “not wasting any more mascara on you (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)” and it felt really awesome to earn that from them. Ultimately, I just want everyone watching to be having as good of a time as I am!
Highlights
Honestly? Every city we played was pretty awesome. LA sang so loud, Chicago initiated claps and hand waves and phones out like it was on cue, New York I shared some laughs with, and Atlanta supported the most through merch! Everyone was so kind and supportive, and I met people that have been supporting me for years. I don’t think I’ll ever get over just how cool it is to grow up with so many of you.
Some things I’ve learned
If you are new to the grind of touring, here are some things I’ve learned along the way:
Have a suitcase you take to the venue with anything you may need. I’m talking medicine, extra glitter tights, mini sewing kit, mints, deodorant, any go the extras you may need in an emergency. Maybe even a small comfort thing you bring, like a diffuser or Nintendo Switch for down time (I played a little AC).
Be kind to the people that work at each venue. Especially if you are not traveling with your own sound engineer and working with the Front of House in each city. Sometimes you’ll get some awesome people that want to help you get the best sound and other times people that don’t care so much. At least do your part to be a good person, but also don’t be afraid to voice what you need during soundcheck.
Wear your show shoes for soundcheck. This is helpful to get your mic set up at the right height if you are in heels of any kind.
Don’t be afraid to kindly invite people to support by following you on social media or buying your merch.
Take time to rest. Most nights are late nights because after you wrap you are riding the high of the show and can’t go to sleep right away, so it’s okay to sleep in a little if you are able to, or get really good at napping on planes and in cars and vans, etc.
Have backup gear. Extra cables, extra strings, whatever it may be. Have some extras if you can in case you lose one or leave one behind like we did in Chicago.
Be ready to go with the flow. Sometimes, things don’t go as planned, and you may find yourself with a delayed flight and getting to a venue with only a few hours to spare before a show (this happened to us going to Atlanta). Do your best to get everything to where it needs to be, but sometimes, depending on the situation, you really do just have to “plug and play.”
Photos by: Nathan Tecson