Five Things We’ve Learned About Live Streaming: Megan Palmer
Adversity is something that Megan Palmer deals with daily. She is a cancer survivor and in between songwriting, recording, and touring she’s also a Palliative Care Nurse at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Hospital.
With live touring on hold, Palmer did what so many other artists have done and shifted to live streaming, but not without a few bumps along the way.
Here five music live-streaming lessons that Megan’s learned so far.
1. Live streaming is a great opportunity to revisit old songs and give them new life.
2. I found myself re-establishing connections to friends and fans all around the globe and I learned how connected we all are, despite the collective isolation we are all in.
3. Directing donations toward an organization in need inspires the spirit of generosity and it feels good to donate to the big needs out there. By donating my tips from each stream and encouraging others to contribute to a specific need, I was able to increase my reach to The 5 Spot (Nashville), Dee's Country Cocktail Lounge, The Basement East, Community Cupboard, PSA (People Supporting Artists), Backline (Mental Health Support) as well as several individual artists who in addition to losing all their work, experienced Covid-19 or other health challenges.
4. I learned that even when playing to an 'empty room' I still get nervous, and I had to work hard to learn how to deal with that vulnerable feeling without having an actual audience to absorb that anxiety. But I also learned that similar to playing in-person apology for mistakes is unnecessary because people appreciate the human quality of live performance. It’s funny because the more of these I’ve done, the more I’ve practiced and planned what I’m going to do, and though the challenge is fun, at times I’ve expected perfection where perfection wasn’t ready to show up... and the horrifying feeling of ‘messing up’ a song still happens, even when playing in my pajamas at home in front of 25-100 people who may/may not be paying close attention!
As we do in real life, however, I learned from watching others and taking note of what was working for them. The message I gleaned the most, was ‘RELAX’ and play the songs (which ultimately mirrors what I’ve gone through to get comfy playing live!)
5. I learned my dog Baba G is camera shy! Even with motivational treats, he refused to show his face (although he participated a few times with barks!).
Follow Megan Plamer on Bandsintown to learn about future live streams and concerts.
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