Ya' Ain't Nervous Are Ya? or: How to calm your nerves before playing in front of people.

Some people get a little nervous before playing a Rockcital. I know how you feel. I used to get nervous before putting on a Rockcital and there was a time when I used to get nervous before performing as well. For me, the key to easing my nerves has been practice and experience. When I give myself the time to practice and prepare properly, I tend to not get nervous.

When it comes to performing, after a while I realized that it wasn’t necessarily the performing that made me nervous, I was often nervous about my gear functioning properly. When I made that realization, I simplified my performance gear, and it eased the anxiety around performing.

When it comes to putting on a Rockcital, we’ve got the experience of having done it more than 60 times over 18 years and we have a great team that I trust to help me if anything goes sideways. I don’t get nervous about it anymore because I trust my experience and the people around me.

If you’re not a gamle dame like me (that means “old lady” in Danish) you may not have had enough time to gain as much experience as me so, here’s a few other tips I’ve heard. Some may be more “placebo-based” than others, but I’ll let you choose your own adventure.

· Practice until you can’t get it wrong.

· Wait. Stop. What you just heard was “practice a lot” but, what I just said was “PRACTICE UNTIL YOU CAN’T GET IT WRONG.”

· Blow on your thumb

· Look just above the audience, not directly at them

· Eat a banana

· Wear mismatched socks

· Get a good night’s sleep

· Hydrate!

· Remember that Rockcital audiences are filled with moms and dads and grandparents and friends and lots of other really nice people who are there to support you and that playing everything perfectly isn’t as important as having a memorable experience with the people who care about you.