Captivating an Audience with Stage Presence

Stage presence is one of the most important aspects of live music. It’s one of the first things you notice when you see a band and it’s what separates the live musical experience from just listening to a CD. But what is it that makes good stage presence?

I would argue that it’s not most important to be dramatic, jumping around or breaking things on stage, but rather to have a presence. People can tell when you are being genuine, and it’s that honesty and earnestness that people always respond to. Some bands’ music lends itself to a bunch of sweaty dudes jumping around on stage, sometimes it doesn’t. Even a jazz trio can be electric to watch on stage. 

Stage presence can be about confidence, patience and even vulnerability. I’d like to share some videos with you demonstrating the less obvious forms of stage presence.

The first video posted is of a talented jazz bassist/vocalist and best new artist Grammy winner Esperanza Spalding. As soon as she begins to speak, her confidence fills the room. She then starts to play, and you can tell she is playing the bass with more than just her fingers, her entire body is moving with the line. As she begins to sing her face expresses every syllable.

The stage lighting keeps the band dim and her spotlighted, making her the focus throughout the entire song. She is calm, patient, dynamic and captivating. Trust me when I say, it’s not easy to play in front of that many people and remain calm and keep the music laid back, but it’s her confidence in her own sound that adds to the whole experience.

The second video is of future rock ‘n’ roll hall of famer Jack White. The video is of one of his many projects, The Raconteurs, playing “Blue Veins” in Holland. This is a very different type of stage presence. Jack is, without a doubt, the focus on this song as he playing rhythm guitar, singing and soloing.

The song starts with a sort of ambient build, Jack wearing black and grey standing in the back of the stage. As begins to sing you can immediately tell that he means every word. One of the most important aspects of this video is the audience. They aren’t moshing, they aren’t even moving around that much, they are just watching in awe. Then, at about 3:40 Jack launches into a guitar solo, and the crowd explodes. Anyone who knows anything about Jack White knows that he is not a shredder by any means, he just puts everything he has into every solo and it’s that dedication and earnestness that crowd ALWAYS responds to.

I hope these videos can help out some up and coming bands. I’ve seen a lot of local bands with great talent that just present themselves the wrong way. You don’t have to wear skinny jeans or have pink hair in order have presence on stage, just be yourself…or the fearless version or yourself. I promise, people will respond every time.