Savanna Leigh - PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the singer-songwriter, Savanna Leigh, reveals what she does before taking the stage. You can check out the rituals below:

Well, candidly speaking I've always battled stage anxiety since I can remember. Typically, once I'm up on stage I'm good to go, but I feel super uneasy leading up to any performance. Therefore preshow rituals are essential for me, to help me get into a better headspace and to alleviate some of the anxiety.

For starters on show days I try to go on vocal rest. I used to think vocal rest meant no speaking or singing at all, but it's actually not good for the voice to go all day without talking and then try to jump into singing a couple hours before the show. Vocal rest for me looks like: speaking at a normal level on and off throughout the day, while limiting how long my conversations are.. and absolutely no screaming (i'm a loud person so this is hard for me lol). I also always do a specific lip trill warm up off of youtube before heading to the venue.

I also try to limit my caffeine intake on show days. I am obsessed with coffee so this is difficult haha but I limit myself to one coffee a day, from Dunkin of course! I also stay away from dairy products such as smoothies, milk, ice cream, etc. It tends to make me phlegmy. I also hate performing on a full stomach. I usually eat a bigger breakfast, a lighter lunch, and then grab dinner once I'm off stage..

And lastly an hour or so before going on stage, I typically like to be alone. I think it helps me feel less nervous if I spend time praying and kind of sitting with my own thoughts. My roommate and I have this joke we call our "mind palace" which is basically where we tune everything out and sort of recenter and then I have a very specific breathing exercise I will do as well right before stepping on stage.

I feel like if I don't do my breathing exercises or say a quick prayer, I won't perform as well. Not sure if that counts as a superstition but yeah haha these are my preshow rituals on tour!

Keep up with Savanna Leigh on Instagram, TikTok, and her website.