Artists from near and far came to The Cobra Nashville this past Tuesday night, showcasing their talents at a memorable NashLive! and Music City Movement collaboration — where community building was the order of the day.
See the photos
In my previous article for Muze, we took a dive into the ways independent artists can book more shows, more often. From relationship building with venue managers and fellow artists, to making sure you deliver a complete, organized pitch, the steps are outlined to ensure that you find greater success, as you strive to bring your live show to new audiences.
But… you know what they say about a tree falling in a forest, right? If nobody is around to hear it, does it really make a sound? The final step in that article was to make sure you promote your show once it’s booked, to get people out and ensure that the venue is happy (thus, increasing the likelihood that you will be booked again in the future).
Last time, I promised to come back with ways to make your gig stand out as special, and to make it the place to be in any competitive live music market. That’s what we’ll do here today!
Erin McLendon and Caitie Thompson are the co-founders of Music on the Move Studios. Both Erin and Caitie are music educators — Erin teaches voice, while Caitie teaches multiple instruments — who are passionate about helping budding performers achieve their potential. In addition, Music on the Move’s all-female showcases provide independent artists and small businesses with a chance to build community in a live setting, while Caitie’s Paradox Jukebox podcast gives the members of that community an opportunity to share their stories.
Through Sept. 30, buy one month of lessons from Music on the Move Studios, and get the second month half off: https://www.musiconthemovestudios.com/musiceducation
#GEtSpunn
As we pointed out earlier this month, our friends at Music on the Move Studios are running a Back to School special on lessons. When you buy one month, you get the second month 50% off.
If you’re looking for a taste of what you’ll learn about being a better musician, pop over to Music on the Move’s blog. Just yesterday, co-founder and voice teacher Erin McLendon posted a valuable video on the importance of breath to ensure proper singing technique.
In this post, Erin explains how to create a system to ensure that you’re getting enough breath, so that you’re nailing every note and phrase.
Celebrate Halloween like you never have before—underground!
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With the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic (hopefully) behind us, more artists are emerging from their hiding places to rejoin the live music landscape. As more of your musical peers become comfortable performing for the masses in the weeks, months, and years ahead, booking gigs only figures to become more competitive. (Here in Nashville, it’s already approaching pre-pandemic levels).
So… how do you stay ahead of the curve, and ensure that you remain in the mix to be considered for performance opportunities? We have some tips and insights, acquired through years of navigating the live music landscape.
We (under the NashLive! banner) are teaming once again with our friends at Music City Movement to bring you a live music experience quite unlike any other in Nashville.
On Tuesday, September 27, we’ll head back to The Cobra Nashville to bring you a diversified lineup featuring the talents of Nashville’s Aaron Friend & The Enemies, in between touring artists Edgar Derby and Leoncarlo.
Meet the lineup
It’s back-to-school season, which means it’s time to get educated — and that includes taking your musical abilities to the next level!
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The digital age brings numerous benefits for the independent creative. It is easier than ever to communicate your message, build community, and find your audience. We have more tools at our disposal to build a platform than ever before. When compared to previous generations and the limitations they experienced, we’re quite fortunate.
However, any society in the midst of rapid growth is bound to experience growing pains, and those of us within the ever-evolving digital landscape are not immune to this reality. Certainly, it is beneficial to have so many ways to build our creative empires. However, it can be so easy to get caught up in learning and utilizing the tools of the trade that we often forget to shut them off. Couple that with the FOMO (that’s Fear Of Missing Out) and comparison culture that digital technology has ushered to the forefront, and it can be difficult to feel like we’re ever truly doing enough.
We must break past that notion and remember that we are not machines. We are not born to endlessly create content to please the algorithmic gods, nor are we designed to spend all of our waking hours working. Every so often, we must remind ourselves of our humanity, and embrace the increasingly elusive concept of rest.
Not only is rest a fundamental human need. Contrary to what 21st Century hustle culture will have you believe, rest has numerous creative and health benefits that empower us to show up as our best selves, professionally and personally. As a creative entrepreneur – and one who often must pull myself, kicking and screaming, away from my own work – I took the initiative to convince myself through research, and nail down the reasons why rest is a good thing for those of us on the grind.
According to NPR, only 12.7 percent of songwriters and 2.8 percent of music producers were female in 2021.
This alarming statistic shows how far the music industry has to go to achieve true equality.
Today is Women’s Equality Day, and our good friend Erin McLendon (co-founder of Music on the Move Studios) shares why it is important for those in the music industry to acknowledge the continued battle for equal rights — for reasons that stretch far beyond music.
Get Erin’s thoughts on the Music on the Move blog, and don’t forget to get tickets to Music on the Move’s next showcase — featuring an all-female, all-LGBTQ+ lineup — at The East Room on August 31.