What do I take to a gig? Here are my 6 rules!
What do I take to a gig as a singer? In this short video, I go through my 6 rules for deciding what to take and how to handle my equipment.
For me, I believe this is an important part of being a all-round musician and not 'just a singer'. Watch the video now or you can read the full transcript below. I've also added the 6 rules graphic for you to save if it's useful. :)
But what about you? How do you decide what to take to a gig? What are your rules to make sure you never leave anything behind?
Here's the 6 rule graphic.
If you’d like a more detailed run down of everything I take to a gig, I recorded a separate video where I go through my gig bag item by item. You can find watch that here.
P.S. Sorry about my sweaty hair - it was 30 degrees when I filmed this!
Video transcript
What do I take to a gig as a singer?
Well these are my rules for what I pack in my gig bag.
Rule #1
My 1st rule is to take two of anything you can’t live without. So that might be microphones, XLR cables, ear plugs. Anything that for you as a singer, the gig doesn’t happen if you don’t have it.
Rule #2
My 2nd rule is to take spares of things other people can’t live without. Now obviously this is within reason. I’m not suggesting you take a spare guitar or a spare amp. But it’s good to have a jack lead, a kettle lead, an extension lead: things that perhaps you don’t need as a singer but if the guitarist’s is broken or the bass player forgot theirs, it’s really great to be able to step in and lend something and save the day.
Rule #3
My 3rd rule is short and sweet: If you’ve ever used it or wish you had it at a gig, keep it in the gig bag.
Rule #4
My 4th rule is to make sure all. your technology is fully charged and that everything you need is available offline. If you’re using an iPad say with lyrics or chord charts or you’ve got songs in playlists that you want to play in between sets through the PA system, you want to make sure you can access all of that offline without needing the wifi and without needing the cloud.
Because I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been in a marquee in a field and plug sockets are at a premium and there’s no internet and there’s no data and everything has to be available at your fingertips.
Rule #5
My 5th rule might be a little bit controversial and that is to have a gigging-only set of equipment. So the stuff that’s in my gig bag I only use for gigging. I don’t use it for fun. I don’t use it just in my studio for teaching. My microphones, my cables, my iPad. All that stuff is in my gig bag just for that purpose. It doesn’t come out for anything else so I can’t accidentally leave it behind.
Rule #6
And that brings me to my 6th and final rule which is: never leave the gig bag unpacked. Or - always be prepared for that last minute gig. It’s so important to be available for opportunities as a singer and when someone contacts you and says “Can you be here in an hour? Our singer’s dropped out and we’re desperate.” You want to be able to say “Yes!”. And part of being able to say yes is being prepared.
The gig bag is something that you cannot leave until the last minute in those situations, wandering around Where is my XLR cable? Who did I leave my iPad with? You just want to be able to pick it up and go. You have other things to think about on the day of a gig - whether it’s planned or not. And you want to be able to just get up and get on with it.
Finale
So there you go. That’s everything I take to a gig as a singer. I hope it’s been really helpful. If you have questions, pop them in the comments. I hope you have a fantastic gig and...
Let’s get singing!
