3 Common Mistakes That Might RUIN Your First Gig (And How to Avoid Them)

You've landed your first gig....

Amazing! but... Now the panic sets in.

What if I freeze up? What if my guitar goes out of tune? What if I forget the lyrics in front of everyone?

After watching hundreds of first-timers crash and burn (and surviving my own train wreck debut), I've noticed the same mistakes over and over. Here are the big three and exactly how to avoid them.

Mistake 1: Showing Up Unprepared (And Thinking "Winging It" Is Cool)

The nightmare scenario: You're on stage. The intro starts. Your mind goes blank. You forget the second verse. The crowd awkwardly stares. You die inside.

THE FIX: Practice until you're bored. Seriously.

If you can play your set perfectly while half-asleep, you're ready. If you're still "kind of" getting it down the night before? You're not ready.

Pro tip: Record yourself playing through your entire set. Watch it back. Cringe at what needs fixing. Then fix it.

Bonus hack: Practice in front of a mirror. Sounds weird? Maybe. But you'll catch all the awkward stuff you do without realizing it, the weird facial expressions, the hunched posture, the death grip on your guitar neck.

 Mistake 2: Skipping Your Warm-Up (Because "It's Fine, I've Got This")

The nightmare scenario: You hit the stage cold. Your fingers are stiff. Your voice cracks on the first high note. That impressive solo you've practiced 1,000 times? You butcher it.

THE FIX: Warm up. Always. No exceptions.

Singers: Do your vocal exercises 30 minutes before you go on. Scale runs, lip trills, whatever gets your voice ready.

Guitarists: Run through some scales, stretch your fingers, play something easy to get your hands moving.

Think of it like this: Olympic sprinters don't just roll up to the starting line cold. Why would you?

Mistake #3: Changing Your Guitar Strings Hours Before the Gig

The nightmare scenario (TRUE STORY): I have seen people changing their strings 2 HOURS before showtime!

Now, unless you really have experience and know what your are doing I would avoid changing strings just before the gig. New strings stretch. A lot. By the time you hit the stage, your guitar will sound like a dying cat. And you will ended up spending half the set retuning between every song while the crowd checks their phones.

THE FIX: Change your strings a few days BEFORE your gig. 

Give them time to settle and you will be ready to go. 

If you absolutely MUST change them last minute (emergency string break), plan on retuning constantly. And accept that your guitar will sound slightly off all night.

THE REAL SECRET (That Nobody Talks About)

Here's what separates an okay first gig from a great one:

ENERGY BEATS PERFECTION

The crowd doesn't care if you hit every note perfectly.

They care about THE VIBE! Are you having fun? Are you connecting? Do you look like you want to be there?

A confident performance with a few mistakes will ALWAYS beat a technically good but lifeless one.

Also, if you suffer from stage fright, make sure you arrive at the venue hours before the gig, when nobody is there yet, maybe only your bandmates and the sound engineer. In this way, you will feel more comfortable; you will feel more at home. Like: this is my place, and my guests are coming to watch me, and I’m ready to welcome them. On the other hand, if you arrive at the venue just before your performance and you already see tons of people under the stage staring at the musicians playing, it might not be ideal.

I have played in big theatres all around Europe, and there is nothing more beautiful than seeing the theatre empty before the show during soundcheck, and later on the room full of people ready to listen to you and have a great time!

What's Your Biggest First Gig Fear?

Drop a comment below and I'll personally answer with advice. Been there, survived that, got the embarrassing stories to prove it.

And if you found this helpful, share it with another musician who's about to take the stage for the first time. Let's help them avoid the mistakes we made!

Now go practice. Your first gig is waiting.