Fear not musicians! This may sound like a bleak prospect but even bands who are signed to major labels have played to empty rooms! ‘At The Drive In’ were on a major label when they played to a near empty room on one of their European tour dates. This was probably due to lack of marketing for that particular date but this didn’t stop the band from tearing the house down and playing as though it was their last day on earth.

If you have marketed your show until your arm almost breaks from putting up so many posters and handing out so many flyers then you should be proud of yourself for trying so hard. Your day will come when the ‘Sold Out’ banner will be sashed across your gig date!

Metallica

Until then you must forge on and play your shows with undying energy. John Coltrane practised so much right before his shows that he broke a sweat and then he had to go on stage and play all night: he was a genius and a musical athlete.

Believe it or not, there are advantages to playing to an empty room. The acoustics are so much warmer because there is more natural reverb in an empty room. Your sound bounces freely off the walls and echos and reverberates beautifully.  Human bodies absorb sound so when there are  more people in the room the sound engineer has to add the reverb himself through the sound desk.

So, don’t let an empty room deter you! Just close your eyes and imagine you are in another world…

Author: Genevieve Knevitt

Images: Mark Coatsworth; Hara Amoros