What It Is Really Like to Play Your First Gig

Twelve weeks of weekly rehearsal comes down to one night. Here is what our members told us it actually felt like.

"Better than expected"

One of our guitarists kept it simple: "How did I find the show? Excellent! I found it amazing, better than expected. Good fun, genuine fun. What else can I say?"

That is the pattern we hear most. People brace themselves for nerves and walk away describing it as fun.

Why it lands differently than people expect

By the night of the show, you are not performing with strangers. You have rehearsed the same set with the same 4 or 5 people for 12 weeks. You know your part. You know theirs. The band you are on stage with is the band you built the whole term with, not a group thrown together for one night.

The room is on your side

Family and friends are always welcome, and most members bring a full crowd. It is not a room full of critics. It is a room full of people who came specifically to watch you finally do the thing you have been working towards.

What sticks with people afterwards

Not the nerves beforehand. The feeling of actually being on stage, in front of people who came to see you, playing a set you helped choose. For a lot of our members, it is the first time they have performed live at all.

If you have never stood on a stage, this is what it is actually like. Genuine fun, over faster than you expect, and worth every one of the 12 rehearsals that got you there.