Even the pros are insecure af
You're not alone
Last week, I was playing a festival in Mexico with some of my favorite musicians.
We played on the main stage to a full house of hollering fans, and the next day, we sat on the beach sharing our fears about our careers.
We were three professional, experienced musicians playing at the highest level, yet we were still anxious about work.
Anxiety about your career doesn’t go away.
Even the pros are insecure af some days.
One of the things I was worrying about most during these sob sessions was getting more work while not in Nashville.
I’ve been playing with Brandy Clark for a long time, so that gig didn’t require me to be in Nashville full-time, but she’s making a record, and suddenly, I was looking at a very open calendar and feeling a lot of anxiety about filling it.
I was worried that the scene would have forgotten about me because I wasn’t there more often, hanging out and seeing people at gigs.
I thought I would have to spend 2-4 months hustling and networking again to get any kind of gig—touring or otherwise.
I was worrying, worrying, complaining, complaining, and then I decided to stop banging my head against a closed door and crack a window instead.
I text a few friends, asking them to keep me in mind if they heard of anyone looking for a bass player—something I rarely do.
The next day, one of those friends wrote back, saying that an artist had contacted them the very same day, looking for my number. The same day!
I don’t know if I believe in someone looking down and moving things around in my life like a chessboard, but wow—the timing! Shout out to serendipity.
I went from being anxious about the future to super excited about a new opportunity with an incredibly cool band (I will tell you who, just not yet!).
You can’t create opportunities from nothing, but you can make sure the world knows you’re open and available to them.
And it’s yet another reminder that 100% of your gigs and work prospects will come through someone you know. The music community is just that, a community. So get out there, be kind, make friends, and buckle in for a wild, incredible ride!
P.S. The best way I’ve found to cope with the instability of life as a musician is to work really, really hard at finding a sense of self-worth outside my music career.
If I get a cool gig, I’m not a better person. If I lose a cool gig, I’m not worthless. Whether I’m playing or not has no bearing on my intrinsic value to the world.
(These are the things I tell myself, at least!)