This article first appeared in PS Audio’s Copper Magazine, with whom PMA has a content trading program.

If you’ve been playing gigs for a while and your band has been building a reputation, at some point you might find yourself playing on a big stage. A “real” stage, in a theater or auditorium or outdoors, of substantial dimensions, raised above floor level, in a room or space that holds hundreds or thousands of people. Such a venue will have a professional sound system, stage lighting, curtains, and almost certainly a “green room” (a backstage dressing room/hangout/meal/bathroom area) and wings off to either side of the stage.

When you play on a stage like this for the first time, it can be thrilling – and daunting.

I can’t say I play these kind of stages frequently, but I’m no stranger to them. So, this article may not be from the perspective of a veteran performer like Paul McCartney, and I may miss a few things that can only come from long-term experience as a touring pro, but this will reflect my personal knowledge, and that of others. (I have never played an arena or stadium show, but I know people who have. Productions for the likes of U2 or the Rolling Stones that involve dozens of people and trucks and tons of staging are above the scope of this article.)

Playing on a large stage offers unique challenges and opportunities and will require you to level up to a higher level of professionalism than when playing on a medium or small one. But what a rush to play on a big stage! If nothing else, it’ll make you feel like your band has arrived. To name a recent example: our band was honored to play at the 2023 and 2024 “Just Wild About Harry” tribute concerts for the music of Harry Chapin, held at the Landmark Theater in Port Washington, New York. This was the same stage that my favorite band, Blue Öyster Cult, once played, and the fact that I was standing on the same spot where Buck Dharma once stood made me feel like I’d reached a pretty lofty height as a musician.

You’ll be working with a sound person, perhaps more than one. In larger venues, there will be a front-of-house engineer (the person at the console in front of the band) and a monitor engineer. You will need to follow their directions regarding where to set up your gear and often, at what volume to set your amplifiers. It’s likely you’ll be working under time pressure – the crew certainly will – so listen to what they say, and be professional and cooperative. They are there to make you sound your best, and nobody likes a diva. (I know some sound people who have had to work with…personalities… and it’s not fun for them. Like the time a certain solo artist, who was formerly part of a duo, complained that the rug they had on stage wasn’t to his liking.)

There’s a first time for everyone and you probably will have garnered plenty of playing experience by the time you get to a bigger stage, but if you’re inexperienced, don’t worry about what’s going on with the house PA. The sound people will guide you. Back in 1978 our band the Lines was about to play at My Father’s Place, a legendary Long Island music club, and we were really nervous. After all, bands like Television, Talking Heads, Aerosmith and Blondie had played there. The stage manager asked if we had a stage plot – a diagram of where the band members would set up – but I was so discombobulated that I thought he was asking for “stage pot.” I told him I didn’t have any weed. He said, “no, do you have a stage plot!”  We didn’t even know what one was, much less have one. He sorted it out.

To this day I’ve never been in a band that had to furnish a stage plot – we just work with the sound person or stage manager when we get to the venue. But once you get to a really pro level you’ll be asked to provide one, plus things like an input list of the vocal mikes and instruments, and a technical rider that spells out the specific sound and lighting gear the band will need, as well as food and drink requirements. (We’ve probably all heard the story about Van Halen asking for the brown M&Ms to be removed from that candy, and thought it was an expression of rock and roll self-indulgence. Actually, it was the band’s way of checking to see if the venue had paid attention to the details of the rider to ensure the safety of the band and everyone at the concert.)

For a look at some actual band riders, click here. Maybe someday you’ll get to the point where you can request that your wardrobe room be kept at 62 degrees Fahrenheit at all times (Elton John), or that only 16-ounce Solo drinking cups are allowed (Axl Rose of Guns N’ Roses). The Monkees’ rider mandated that all liquor should be placed in the dressing rooms after the start of the show. Most of us will never get to this level.

You may have to use the stage’s backline – the house amplifiers and drum set that are provided by the venue – rather than using your own equipment. Typically, there will be a guitar amp or two, plus a bass amp and possibly a keyboard amp, and something like a five-piece drum set. The bass amp could be anything but will certainly be a powerful one, and the guitar amp will likely be a Fender of some kind, very possibly a Twin Reverb or Hot Rod Deluxe, which are industry standards.

Although it can be disconcerting the first few times you play on an unfamiliar amplifier, don’t be precious about dialing in “your” sound. You may not even have time to do so, or the amps might be shared by multiple acts and screwing with the controls may be impractical, or very likely the sound person may not want you to touch the amp settings (except for maybe the volume control). In any case, the front-of-house person will be adjusting the volume and the EQ that will be going through the PA, and what you will be hearing out of the amps and on-stage monitors (or in-ear monitors; we’ll get to those) will not be what the audience hears. So unless there’s something grossly wrong with the sound of the amp or stage monitors, don’t stress over what it sounds like on stage.

Many times, the drummer will have to provide their own snare drum, cymbals and perhaps bass drum pedal and throne. READ THE RIDER OR PRE-SHOW E-MAIL! Do not assume a full drum set will be provided. Often, at shows with multiple drummers, one of them will volunteer to furnish the set, but again, check. If the venue provides a kit, the same rule applies as for the guitarists, bassists and other musicians – don’t be precious about the fact that the drum kit isn’t tuned or configured the same as yours. Make it work.

It’s becoming more and more of a trend for bands to have “silent stages,” where there are no on stage amps at all. The instrumentalists play through modelers – units that, as the name suggests, model the sound of amplifiers – and direct boxes that feed directly into the PA system.

If you’re on a multi-band bill, cooperate with the other bands and musicians as far as sharing gear. A little communication goes a long way. It’s to everyone’s benefit to have the show run as smoothly as possible.

On the other hand, if you’re able to bring your own amps and drums, it’s great. Just be aware that in a large venue, said amps and drums will sound very different from what you’re used to hearing in a smaller room. In the case of guitar amps, the tonal balance can sound like it’s way off, with too much bass or treble, but again, leave it to the sound person to adjust the EQ. And you’re going to be hearing a good portion of the sound from the on stage or in-ear monitors (as the case may be). Typically, there will be plenty of AC outlets to plug your gear into – this won’t be the local pub where you have to plug everything into a couple of questionable wall outlets where the cords are practically (or actually) falling out of them.

You will almost certainly be able to do a sound check before the show, or at least what’s known as a line check, where the band sets up and the sound people make sure they’re at least getting a signal from the instruments and vocals. In the event that you don’t get a sound or line check, you’ll have no choice but to hope for the best, but this has rarely happened in such situations in my more than 56 years of playing.

The sound person will ask you to play your instrument for a bit in order to make sure you’re coming through and to get a handle on the sound, and will also ask if you can hear yourself in the monitors. For drummers, the sound person will usually ask you to play your kick (bass) drum, then snare, then the other drums. Then the band will be asked to run through a song, or a part of a song (time may be limited). If it’s a really big gig with top-level sound, you may have the luxury of separate monitor mixes for each band member. But on a real-world level for most of us local players, this doesn’t happen.

Unless you’re in a nine-piece band or something, you’ll have room to spread out on a big stage. Lots of room. In fact, this can be disconcerting. The first time, it’ll definitely feel weird. But remember this: there’s no law that says you have to spread out across the entire width of the stage. Look at Kraftwerk when they play live – they keep closely together. Playing tightly as a band involves a lot of eye contact and physical communication and body language, and until you get to the level where you’re Taylor Swift and are used to playing in vast spaces, the band members might want to stay closer together. (One stage our band played on had distance markers so performers could tell how many feet apart they were from one another.)

One thing you might not have control over, though, is where the drummer is placed. If he or she is on a drum riser, they might be far back from the rest of the band and you may not even be able to see them while performing. Here’s where knowing the songs down pat really comes in handy, because you’ll only be able to hear the drummer rather than pick up on any of their visual cues.

There will be lighting. In the old days, it could get really hot on stage from the lights blazing on you, but nowadays LED lighting is prevalent, which is a real boon. I don’t miss the days when I’d be baking in my fancy stage outfit and have sweat dripping into my eyes, which I would not be able to wipe away since I was busy playing. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the fact that the lights might be blinding, literally preventing you from seeing anyone in the audience. It’s weird – you finally get to the point where you’re playing to a big audience – and you can’t see them.

Check in advance to see if there will be any food backstage! You don’t want to arrive at the gig hours before your set time, only to be hungry before you go on. At some gigs, especially at the local level, food will be provided, but not always. And if you have special requirements (vegan, gluten-free, medical dietary restrictions etc.), check to see whether the venue can accommodate you or if you’ll have to bring your own or find a place to eat nearby. I always bring my “survival” cooler, which has drinks, a sandwich, maybe a banana or snacks, just in case.

A quick aside: try to remember to have someone take photos or videos. (Sometimes the venue will do this for larger shows, or for live streaming.) Having great photos of your band on a real stage with professional lighting is great for promoting your band on your website, in posters and on social media. You will literally look like a real band playing a real gig.

A couple of advanced techniques to mention:

Most of us are never going to have to deal with these considerations, but if you get to the really high level of being a national or international touring act, or playing in a Broadway or Las Vegas show or being in a top tribute band, you will have to deal with using in-ear monitors (IEMs), and very possibly playing to a click track and backing tracks.

In-ear monitors are like consumer earbuds, only designed for on-stage use, and can be custom-molded to the player’s ears. Their big advantage is they allow for much lower onstage volume levels, since there’s no need for monitor wedges blaring at the band, and this makes the overall stage sound much less prone to feedback since the monitors aren’t leaking into the vocal mics. IEMs also enable precise tailoring of each musician’s in-ear mix. The disadvantage: some musicians don’t like them, as they give an entirely different sonic perspective on the performance (one pro I know hates them), and they eliminate the physical impact of monitor speakers pounding out the sound. Some pros use a mix of in-ears and stage wedges.

Click tracks – similar in function to a metronome – are more and more becoming a fact of life for live touring, where the show’s lighting, choreography and other elements (like pyro) have to be precisely coordinated. If you’re playing with backing tracks, which were once regarded as “karaoke” but have become accepted by audiences and musicians (although, do a quick search online and you’ll find plenty of threads questioning whether some “name” singers are really singing live, or lip synching or accompanied by backing tracks), you will have no choice but to lock in with the backing tracks and/or click. This can be extremely disconcerting at first and in fact is an entirely new skill to be learned. And to be fair, most local bands won’t be doing this, because they want to have musical flexibility. Or, frankly, they don’t have the skill to do it.

How do you get good at it? Like anything else, practice. Play along with a metronome or with backing tracks at home and at rehearsals. But be aware, if you want to play in a show that plays to a click, you’re going to have to get adept at it. And a big advantage of using a click with in-ears is that you can hear spoken cues that the audience can’t, like count-ins to songs or other verbal cues (“guitar solo in 4-3-2-1”).

A sort of middle ground, which can be very effective, is for the drummer to use an app like Backbeater or PRO BPM, which displays what tempo they’re playing on a smartphone or tablet. This gives a real-time indication of the tempo and whether the drummer is rushing or dragging. (There used to be a device called the Russian Dragon which did the same thing.)

In an earlier article (“Mental Preparation,” Issue 211) I mentioned the importance of being psychologically prepared. It’s really important for doing a big show on a big stage, where the size and the situation can be, well, intimidating, even nerve-wracking. I’ll be honest and tell you I can get pretty keyed up right before going on during a big gig. To briefly recap the article, you want to be somewhat excited, as it fuels the performance – and the key to being confident and not nervous is to be prepared. You’re going to have to focus on your performance and concentrate to a much greater degree than when playing a more casual gig – you’re being showcased in a major way, to a bigger audience than you might be accustomed to.

Do I need to mention you really don’t want to be impaired on alcohol or drugs? Maybe that was rock and roll cool decades ago and part of the whole rock music thing, but if you want to deliver a pro performance, let’s just say it’s not the best strategy.

On a big stage, the theatrical aspects of performing are much more important. You need to make grand gestures and sweeping moves to have an impact, especially to those in the back rows. This isn’t to say you have to bounce around the stage, but keep in mind that what you think is a lot of movement might not come across that way, and there’s nothing wrong with hamming it up a little or even adding some choreography. If you’re going to do a solo, step up to the front! Try not to stay rooted to one spot. Engage the audience. Make eye contact, wave, talk. And have fun! After all, you’ve worked long and hard and overcome obstacles to get to the point where you’re playing on a big stage to lots of people. There’s nothing like it, so take the opportunity to revel in the total rush of playing a big-time gig.

Header image: Blue Öyster Cult at the MJN Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, New York, December 2024.

Republished by permission. For more articles like this, visit Copper Magazine.