I’ve recently completed the “Two Cities Tour” – the first tour under my name. It’s been an amazing experience. I was so privileged to have such wonderful musicians join me on the road and I’m incredibly proud of their performances, which made me think about the tour more generally.
I’m proud of what I’ve achieved in organising and presenting this tour. It’s taken a lot of hard work and countless hours but it’s given me enormous satisfaction. I wrote down a long list of positive outcomes of the tour – here’s some of the things that stood out for me:
- I finished what I set out to achieve, what I said I would.
- I didn’t tackle too much and become disheartened – I managed my own expectations and experience.
- I didn’t shy away from tedious tasks – made sure that the ‘nuts and bolts’ were considered and actioned, instead of concentrating purely on ‘grand vision’.
- I organised the s*** out of the tour – made it as easy as possible for everyone involved. That way, they could concentrate on the music.
- Over 150 people heard my band and my music for the first time.
- I developed relationships and made connections.
- The music got so much better with each show.
- I learnt a lot for the next time.
As musicians or artists, we consider the ability to switch between creative and business mindsets as a fundamental job requirement. And even though this is a necessary skill, in truth the switch between romantic and realist requires a completely different skill-set.
I’ve always been good at having a ‘grand vision’ of what I wanted to achieve artistically. What I lacked was the ability to carefully plan each small step along the way. This tour helped to correct that imbalance. Some days, I really had to force myself to sit down in front of the computer and write press releases, send emails, calculate budgets (I actually love numbers so that part wasn’t too hard) and phone people constantly.
My “reasons I’m proud” list contains fewer music-related bits – that’s not to say I’m not immensely proud of the music that we all created on this tour. I am. There were many magical moments on stage that affirmed my life-path as a musician. This list recognises my accomplishment of tasks that don’t come easily to me – tasks that were vital to the success/failure of the tour. It wouldn’t have mattered how good the music was if nobody was there to hear it.
At this point, I want to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who came out to any of the shows. It was great to meet so many new friends and see familiar faces! Your attendance and support is a constant incentive to keep working hard, write and record new work, and embark on a bigger tour next time.
I sometimes feel a bit juvenile when I think about these things – as if patting myself on the back is somehow inappropriate as a professional musician. Austin Kleon, in his book, Show Your Work, talks about “the amateur – the enthusiast who pursues her work in the spirit of love”. This tour has not been a financial windfall. The process of organising it has not always been enjoyable. BUT… I have absolutely loved the outcome, which in turn has made me appreciate the process and the opportunities that I’ve had to develop new skills. Kleon continues, “Even for professionals, the best way to flourish is to retain an amateur’s spirit and embrace uncertainty and the unknown”.
That’s what I want to take away from this tour – the fact that I was challenged, that I worked hard and consistently, and ultimately that I was able to meet and exceed my own demanding expectations. I certainly feel that I’ve grown a lot as an artist as a result of this experience and I’m looking forward to future growth opportunities.
Thanks so much for reading this. If you’d like to be a part of what I’m doing, please join my mailing list.
Have an awesome weekend!
Brenton
