I Played TWO Live Acoustic Gigs in ONE Day - Tips for Solo Gigging Guitarists

I'm taking you on a really awesome yet challenging journey of playing two live gigs on the same day. And

And I'm sharing some valuable tips for solo musicians to help you plan for these types of days when you have back-to-back gigs or multiple gigs on the same day.

***Here are the links I mentioned in the video:

Vocal Course:

Ken Tamplin's warm-up:

Amp and Pedal Mods by Mark (he'll have a YouTube channel soon):

A Traveling Gentleman (Tampa solo performer):

Venue 1: Fiorelli Winery:

Venue 2: Bootleggers Brewing:

The two live gigs were on a Saturday but I also had a long gig that night before. So here's what the weekend of live music looked like:

Friday: Live gig from 5-9 PM (Keel & Curley Winery)
Saturday (1): Live gig from 1-5 PM (Fiorelli Winery)
Saturday (2): Live gig from 7-10 PM (Bootleggers Brewing)

I'll admit, we had a great time but it can be a bit daunting planning for something like this.

And I hope the tips I give you help you with your live solo shows.

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or anything you'd like to add that helps you with playing live solo shows.

Keep it Metal,
Jason

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[thomasmastin]

Ken is fricken awesome.. never felt so prepared for gigs and I’ve been doing it for years. Really really helpful equipment tips and just so encouraging

[ChandlerBrown]

Two solo gigs in one day is every Monday - Thursday for me. Little different in my case living in nashville and being a Broadway guy. But still the same! Biggest hurdle for me was conditioning my voice to handle 40+ hours of singing a week.

[donaldmcmillan]

Also Throat Coat tea helps. Love your advice as I'm just getting back into it. Last place I played was outdoors and we pulled out all the stops with 4 monitors, subwoofers and mains plus satilites and it took me an hour to set up.. kind of envious of the 15 minutes it took for you to break it down. :D. Keep on sharing cause I love your content!
Also, I've been downsizing my gear lately. Getting closer to 70 now and it seems like my stuff is getting heavier for some reason...

[steveclary]

Ken is the man . I learned so much from him.

[CoffeeConversationMusicGear]

Love your videos of your live shows with your wife. Very cool man! Me and my wife have just started back up doing rehearsals to start going back out and doing shows in NYC. Your clips of your live shows are always good man! I look forward to seeing more since I've discovered your channel. And your tips are so spot on for live gigs! You never know what may happen so be prepared. Rock on good Sir! 🤘🏾🎸

[HalinPhilly]

I used to do 2 solo gigs in one day every now and then at one particular restaurant I was fortunate enough to play 3-4 days a week. Really had to learn to pace myself and take good care of my voice. It's easy to blow it out and render yourself very, very hoarse. So, yeah, always keep up with the exercises. You wouldn't let your guitar strings get rusty, right?

So, now that I'm turning 71. Still gigging pretty regularly, but playing less often than I did a few years ago. So I'm on my way to an afternoon party for a one year old, which as you know, you're really there for the parents, grandparents and their friends. So the set lists have to include the whole spectrum... from Baby Shark to Mack the Knife and all the generations in between. On the way, I get a call from a fellow solo musician. He wants to know if I xan cover for him at a restaurant gig from 8 till midnight. Long story short, I agreed.

Talking to a friend a couple days later abour it. He says, "You did a Double-Springsteen!"

That's what I'm calling it from now on.

[freddyleftyou]

Another excellent video. Thank you for putting it together!

[ColinRexin]

Just found your channel and I really dig the content. Keep it up!!

[PeteFolksinger]

Cool video, thanks. I occasionally do 2 a day...can be tough. I feel your pain...bought new Martin 12 string with Fishman Matrix electronics. Would crap out and make awful noise. Of course it waited until out of warranty. Had it swapped to passive K & K which works fine.

Great info on voice care and warmups. I am careful in selecting songs to avoid strain.

[walteralvarezmusic]

Thanks man, more videos would be great!

[jeremy.thejeweler]

I have the same Martin. Just got it and I love it. There’s a phase switch behind the volume and tone knobs, try switching that. It can cause some funky stuff to happen when your playing at higher volumes.

[Hicks-gm]

Cool Jason very cool 2 gigs in one day nice these are great tips 🆒🆒👍👍

[rockindavebyron]

Great advice Jason! I agree about your significant other, my wife is always with me setting up & running sound & taking care of our merch sales & bookings, so important!!! We've done a ton of double hitter gigs, just did 2 gigs yesterday, Saturday, 9/17/22, our 12-3pm gig at Yucatan's in Matlacha Island, just west of Cape Coral & Ft. Myers, then had to hurry up & drive across alligator Alley to Miami to play 8:30-10pm gig, then drive home to N. Ft. Myers, we didn't get home & unloaded until 3:45 am Sunday morning, so we basically had a 20hr day!!! Needless to say we were exhausted!!! I always bring deorderant & not only a change of clothes, but shoes as well, to help protect my pedals from the dirt & sand, especially when it rains, which be we get a lot of down here in Florida, LOL!!! GREAT video my friend, you ROCK BROTHER!!! You & The Mrs. be safe, Rock On & God Bless!!!

[bedstain]

Amon amarth shirt is dope that album is awesome 🤙🏼

[MarkJohnsonJams]

I second the change of clothes tip. Had a outside gig yesterday and my acoustic duo partner and I were soaked in sweat before even playing. I’ve only done the two gig thing once and it was tough. My fingers were like chopped meat after. Cheers Jason, love these vids. I gotta get out there solo.

[JadeDude]

We used to pull double duty once in a while -- the two bands I was in shared members. So I'd play rhythm guitar in my metal band, then hop on the keyboard for the other band. So much chain smoking. :P

[manujadep]

Can you give the exarmples about ...what we should say between songs ( how to introduce song ) ...like crowd handling tips...

[philippmethling]

Hey Jason, I just wanted to tell you that I love "Passing Through" from the Masterpeace Album! I assume you used Logic Pro? Did you use EZ-Drummer? Didn't have the time to look it all up. Masterpeace rules so much!

[jackbandel]

Great video. I’ve never done a double header myself. Being 60 years old, I never do more than 1 gig per day. But the biggest thing is to not push your voice past it’s limits. Do lots of songs that are in your comfort range. So how did you like the sound of the Martin plugged in? Im guessing since you mentioned changing the pickup, you weren’t that thrilled with it.

[slakethesnake]

I was wondering if you have ever arrived to a gig at a new venue only to find out they have to power ? It happened to me recently and I didn’t even have an acoustic guitar to play unplugged ….inside a Fender Acoustasonic so can’t really play unplugged .