Finding Your Music Community
A while back I asked our friend Miriam to write about her experience joining a new music scene. She recently just moved with her family to a new state, and jumped right into her local music community. I thought to myself… how did she do it so effortlessly?! Miriam is a bad ass human and that has to do with a lot of it, but in the blog post below she outlines some clear takeaways on how to find your way in a new music town. Check out what she wrote below! - Ray
Moving to a new city as a musician is definitely intimidating. My kids and I were already looking for someplace warm and sunny to move to when we decided to give Saint Augustine/Jacksonville, FL a try. I went in not knowing much about the music scene here, except that there are gigs readily available year around because of the weather (unlike Rochester). Since I was fairly successful back in NY for a few months out of the year I figured I’d see how I do year around in a setting that has more opportunity throughout the entire year.
I will say that a lot of my last weeks in Rochester (other than packing) were spent going to see people play who I’ve always wanted to see, but was always either playing myself, or too tired from the previous night’s gig. I’m wishing I had done this sooner! I learned so much from watching and listening to other people perform! If you name any of the local bands or people I saw before moving I could point out at LEAST one thing from each performance that was inspiring to me and that I brought with me to FL. It truly built my confidence more than ever before, and gave me hope that I am fully capable of kicking butt in a new music scene.
Here’s some advice I’d give to any one moving to a new music community…
1. Revamp your social media music/business accounts!
Think about what it looks like to a person visiting your page for the first time to see what you’re about. Mine personally still isn’t where I’d like it to be, but I definitely made some minor changes after moving that I believe cleaned it up a bit and made it more professional, and showcased/highlighted things I can do.
2. Go to open mics/open jams!
They are not beneath you. And get recordings of yourself doing them and blowing people away!
3. Join Facebook (or other online) local music groups!
Music communities are generally so welcoming, I feel like they are usually excited to see who is new on the scene, because it can be refreshing. I made friends and my first business contacts by doing this (that led to booking my first gigs!) and I’m so grateful that Facebook music groups exist. Post your videos from open mics and open jams to these groups, too!
4. Check out the artists and bands currently in the area, and support them!
It’s a great way to share the love and make connections while doing it. You may learn something from them and about the music culture they’ve already had experience in.
5. Find joy in the music.
If you’re going after it hard like it’s your full time job like I’m doing, make sure you have days where you listen to and enjoy music for what it is, not because you need to learn and work on songs, etc. It’s so important to stay rooted in and be reminded of why you’re pursuing it in the first place. If you’re only approaching music as a way to make a living you’ll lose that spark of life that brings you so much joy and peace. Take a day to turn off the list of songs you need to learn and put on music that your soul just needs instead. It’ll pay off, and you may be inspired to add some of your favorites to the band list!
Miriam Morelli
Bad Ass Musician
Even Better Person