Sharing the Stage with other Bands
I had the pleasure of being the first performer for the 2025 Dick Orleans Friends of Folk Festival and met some really great musicians. Overall it was a fun time, and it was my first time as a Soloist playing at a Festival with a team of Sound Technicians. I’ve played this festival in the past (with a band that is no longer playing) and have shared the stage with other musicians. It is a great festival for a small town, and I highly encourage people to attend.
Sharing space can be a tricky or confusing to some people, so here are Mr. Lenz’s tips for sharing the stage for a festival.
Be Friendly/Cool
It’s not fun to be around grumps. It’s also not fun to be around people who ignore you as a human. Smile, relax, and be friendly to everyone. Sharing is easier with people in good moods. This is more than just a tip for sharing the stage.
Be Efficient/Quick
We were given an allotted time of 15 minutes per group/artist to do a sound check. Knowing that, I unpacked my board, plugged in every cable that I needed and I staged my gear ready-to-go for my sound check. I was even able to tune in my instrument back stage before plugging in, thanks to Max Miller from Snowbelt Bluegrass for lending me his Snark Tuner! Thinking ahead like this allows a plug-and-play, which helps speed along the sound check process.
Sound Check is not a Rehearsal nor is it time to Jam.
Sound check is for the Sound Technician to check volume levels and mixing. When the Sound Technician is working with one member of the band, then everyone else needs to be quiet. Including talking. If that band member cannot communicate with the Sound Technician, or vice versa, that is wasting time. Not just wasting time for that band member and the Sound Technician, it is wasting time for everyone involved. The Sound Technician will ask the entire band to play at some point to get the right mix of the ensemble in the Front of House (FOH) and in the monitors. You should be able to get the idea of your sound in the monitors after 1 or 2 minutes of playing. Once you are feeling confident about your sound, and the Sound Technician has saved your settings, you should end your sound check so that others can have their sound check.
I did not get a true soundcheck, and the Festival Started late.
Since I was the opener of the Festival, the idea was to have my soundcheck be very last. The 15 minute allotment of time for sound check was not enough time for one of the larger groups. They ended up taking 30 minutes to do their soundcheck, playing through an entire song with a jam. That set back the next two groups on their soundcheck time. The 3:30pm advertised start time was delayed past 4:00pm. By four o’clock, I was in front of a large audience, awaiting the festival to start. I told the Sound Technician that I had in-ear-monitors and did not need any sound from the stage. My set-up was ready to-go and I wanted to get started, so I produced a few sounds from the guitar, bass, and drum, and microphone and asked if we could just wing it without a sound check. They all seemed supportive and relieved.
I performed, and it went well. I had a couple mistakes, but it was nothing that a Sound Technician could fix. The biggest lesson I took away was Be absolutely prepared and efficient that a Sound Technician compliments your work - not only your playing, but knowledge of sound.