As it turns out 2023 was quite the eventful year for me. There were 52 public musical performance dates on the calendar, and there were plenty of other times I was making music happen as well. I had two shows at The Tilles Center’s Atrium space that served as bookends for the year, played a few Long Island based festivals, and was even enlisted to serve as Emcee/Host for a few of those events as well. (This is sort of a big deal as someone who used to *only* feel comfortable on stage on my own if I also had a guitar in my hand.) I performed solo quite often but had a decent amount of gigs where I played “full band” as well, some full tilt rock and roll with electric guitars and drums, and a few with a newer format of acoustic guitar, upright bass, and pedal steel added which suited my songs and repertoire very well. I had a chance to showcase my original music at those full band shows, and also at the two shows I played as part of the East End Writers Round series. I performed *plenty* of other gigs where the focus was mainly on songs other people have written, but it’s always a treat to get to share tunes that I dig with ears who want to hear them.
In addition to performances in front of live audiences, I was fortunate to be given the opportunity this year to reach folks through other means as well. I was in at Four Village TV studios in Floral Park, NY to film a recent episode of Wes Houston Presents… that debuted in March, and in April I was at the WLIW-FM studios as an on-air guest on The Heart of East End with Gianna Volpe which was my first time live on an NPR affiliated radio station. (Both shows/appearances are archived online, and you can find them with via a Google search.)
There were gigs and shows that came up as last minute additions, and a some that saw cancellation due to the weather and other factors. There were shows played to hundreds of people, and shows performed to just a handful of people. There were shows were everything went well and beyond expectation, and some where unexpected events presented challenges beyond just singing and playing well for an audience. In addition to musical performances, this year I started hosting several enjoyable trivia events that saw my Emcee skills get put to the test even more so. As someone once famously said, “there’s no business like show business…” and I couldn’t agree more. One big thing that this year has taught me is that I have the inherent desire to get out there in front of folks and entertain ‘em. No matter how things shake out with all the ups and downs involved with it all, it’s simply just who I am.
As always, I send out a big thank you to the venue managers, festival coordinators, TV hosts, radio DJs, and many others who give me the time, place, and space to share my talents with others and most of all - to the wonderful audiences that I get to share them with. I’m already looking forward to 2024 with plenty of hopes and aspirations (including *finally* getting some new recordings released) but something else that 2023 taught me was to trust in myself and the time I’ve put in to my performing career up to this point and to just enjoy the ride. Here’s wishing you and yours a very happy and healthy new year, and I hope to see you in ‘24!
-Bryan