Dean Lewis – PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the singer-songwriter, Dean Lewis, shares what he does before every show. You can check out his rituals, after the break.

I like to be nervous before a show. It means you care about what you’re doing! So my pre-show routine is basically trying to amplify the excitement of it all! I want to have energy and I want to push myself and to make every show have meaning. Which is sometimes hard when you’re the opening artist and you know you have to go out there and look a crowd in the eye, that doesn’t know you and be like “LISTEN TO ME”!

I like to be in the dressing room backstage about an hour before the show. I’ll be doing my vocal warm-ups and pacing around, closing my eyes every 10 or so minutes visualizing people watching me on stage at different moments. The reason I do that is because I want to give them something worthwhile, and visualizing it puts it into perspective for me.

I watched a TED talk on power posing (basically looking at yourself in the mirror with your arms raised for about 1 minute) which is scientifically proven to boost your confidence. I don’t know if it works for me, but I’ve been doing it ever since I started taking music seriously and things are working so I’m not gonna change it.

My brother is usually with me backstage, giving me the countdown, and psyching me up for the show – he’ll be throwing around plenty of “Come on, are you ready? Give them a show”.

A minute before I go on stage, I stand by the door and I have this slight sick feeling in my stomach. I try to think of it as just “one song at a time”. Thinking of it as a whole would be too overwhelming. Time to go, final fist bump with my brother and then I walk onto the stage and try not to screw up introducing myself. Then I close my eyes and it all falls into place.

03/12/18 Mon Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
03/13/18 Tue Bloomington, IL Castle Theatre
03/14/18 Wed Madison, WI Majestic
03/15/18 Thu Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
03/19/18 Mon Boise, ID Egyptian Theatre
03/20/18 Tue Seattle, WA Neptune Theatre
03/21/18 Wed Portland, OR Aladdin Theatre
03/23/18 Fri San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
03/24/18 Sat Solana Beach, CA Belly Up

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