To this day, one of the most effective ways to build your fan base is through your live performance. Not only is it an opportunity to wow everyone in attendance and turn them into die hard fans but it’s also an opportunity to reach into each individual’s personal network by giving them something to tell their friends and family about. So do yourself a favour and take your live show to the next level with these 6 easy tips.
1. Guest Appearances
Having a guest performer join you on stage for a couple songs or an entire set will introduce a new element to your show that existing fans haven’t seen and new fans will enjoy. On top of that your guest performer will likely pull a few new potential fans to your show that otherwise may not have been aware of your band before.
2. Develop a Grand Entrance
Again, you may think it’s cheesy, but the audience will eat it up. How does almost every band start their show? They walk onto the stage, say a few words to the audience and then start performing… but you’re not every other band are you ;).
Stand out and do something different!
Perception is reality my friends, if you walk onto that stage like a rock star, the audience is going to think you’re a rock star. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, you just have to believe it and have fun.
3. Direct The Audience
Sometimes there are so many great things happening on stage that the audience doesn’t know where to look. While this may sound like a good thing it can also confuse the audience and detract from the show. In order to make sure this doesn’t happen, use your movements and body language to direct the audience’s attention to where it should be. For example, if your lead guitarist is performing an epic solo, he should be front and center while the rest of your band moves to the back allowing the audience to focus on him. If the rest of the band stays at the front of the stage then the audience may not realize where their attention is supposed to be and end up missing out. By having the rest of the band move away it empowers the member in the spotlight and puts them on a pedestal for their big moment.
4. Look at the Audience
I know you love your instrument and you want stare at it and show it how much you care, and there’s nothing wrong with that… except that there is an audience full of people staring at you, craving your attention. Lift your eyes up from the guitar, the audience paid to see you perform, so show them some love, and do your best to make eye contact with each and every one of them. You can also smile and wink at them just try to keep it tasteful. Use your eyes to engage with them, it will make them feel more connected to you and enhance their experience immeasurably.
5. DANCE
You’re a rock star, not a tree. Uproot your limbs and start moving around! How can you expect the audience to dance if you’re not? It is your job as the band to get the audience going, not the other way around, so show them how it’s done!
6. Synchronized Theatrics
While this may seem cheesy to you, the audience will eat it up, we promise. Something as simple as both guitarists performing a synchronized two-step grabs the audience’s attention and provides added entertainment. The more people doing something interesting, the more entertaining it is.