A normally laid-back guitarist friend of mine was in a panic. His band had been picked to open for a headline act in front of a couple thousand people and it would be their biggest concert to date. He was no stranger to performing live and always felt it was the best part of his life as a musician. So, why the stress this time?
It’s pretty common for emotions to surface at inopportune moments before big shows. Fear or nervousness fueled by the realization that maybe your career is actually progressing, and the reactions of this particular audience to you onstage may somehow determine your future, “The higher you climb, the further you may fall” mentality. You can easily obsess about the myriad of things that might go wrong for the big concert.
The solution? Have fun.