When bands make the leap from garage to bar, things get fun. When they make the leap from bar to festival show, things get interesting. This article will provide you with some key things to pay attention to when you are playing your first festival show.
Some buzzwords you will want to keep in mind: "House equipment" is what the venue will be providing for you. This typically includes the PA system, lighting, vocal mics, stage monitors and microphones to mic your amp cabinets. They usually will have some other things around like direct boxes and XLR snakes. "Front of House" (also called FOH) is a separate mixing area close to the stage. The FOH engineer is responsible for making sure the band members can hear themselves o.k. on stage. What the band hears on stage is called the "stage mix". The "house mixing engineer" typically operates a larger console placed much further back from the stage. This engineer is responsible for creating the mix that the audience hears. You may or may not have a FOH engineer, depending on the size of the venue/event.
Sometimes a house drumset is included and sometimes a house guitar amp stack is included. Some venues want to have very fast turnover times between acts, and require that the band uses the house drumset and/or house guitar/bass amp stacks.
Before you show up at the event, try to find the following out days in advance:
1) Do you need to bring anything other than your core band instruments. For example, do you need to bring vocal mics, mics for your guitar amps, or stage monitors?
2) Is there something you will *not* be allowed to bring on stage. For example, do they require you to play the house drum set or use the house guitar amp stack to minimize stage turnover time between acts?
3) What is the size of the stage? Will you be able to fit comfortably?
4) Will there be wireless vocal mics? (This can affect the opportunities for the lead singer to move on stage).
5) If it's an outdoor venue, what covering is over the stage? (You may think twice about bringing your $3000 electric guitar if there is no covering and the weather is forecasting rain).
6) Will there be soundcheck opportunities? If so: what time do you soundcheck, and how much time do you have?
7) What time do you go on? How much time do you have to play, and how much setup time do you have?
8) Where is the load-in area for your equipment? How safe is it? What level of supervision does the load-in area have before/during/after you go on stage?
You should not be shy about asking these questions. The concert arrangers and technical people want you to know what you are doing. They want you to be informed, on-time, and prepared.
Besides the above checklist, you should also be reviewing your equipment in terms of backups and fail-safes: If you broke a string on stage what would happen? If the drummer broke a cymbal or a snare drum head on stage what would happen? If your guitar cable cuts out on stage what would happen? If the battery in your stompbox dies on stage what would happen? Make sure something as silly as an extra set of guitar strings doesn't ruin your day. Also make sure a traffic jam doesn't ruin your day either. The one day you need to get to the big gig can be the one day that there is a three-hour delay due to a giant traffic accident!
Festival shows have their own amount of wackiness. But proper preparation and knowledge can minimize the mishaps and allow you to concentrate on entertaining the audience. Good luck!
J.H. writes for 2sheetmusic.com, which features sheet music such as Morning Has Broken for guitar, bass, flute, and other instruments.
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