#24 Stories from the Edge of Music: Say a prayer, please, for the opening act

… and read how Black American bluesmen handed the torch to a new generation, 5,000 miles away in a foggy London suburb

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That time when the late, great R&B singer Solomon Burke opened for the Rolling Stones in Paris. Keith, Mick, Ronnie and Charlie explain what happened in the video above.

AND A BIG WELCOME, PLEASE, FOR THE OPENING ACT…

And say a prayer for them, because they have a thankless job, and the chances are that it may not — for all sorts of reasons — go well.

All new artists, at some stage or another, want to be the opening act on a show (or even a tour) with a well-known headliner. It’s exposure, it’s a chance to impress the headliner, agents, music industry influencers and — most important — the audience.

At the same time, well-established artists would like to have an opener who complements their music, fills out the bill, and makes the show look like a better proposition to the audience. Oh, and the audience? The fact is that many people probably don’t know, or care, who the opening artist is. Some people will show up late, missing the opener altogether; all they want to see is the headliner.

Today, alas, opening artists are often presented to audiences who are not told about them. They are treated badly, don’t get adequate sound checks or decent lighting, aren’t billed or acknowledged, and don’t get the “break” they were hoping for. In fact, they’ve just been thrown to the wolves. Can this be fixed?

Who chooses the opening artist?

In no particular order, the opener is chosen by the headliner, the promoter of the concert, or the headliner’s agent, manager or record company.

Why was the opening artist chosen?

Again, in no particular order, here’s why the opener was picked: they’re friends with the headliner. There’s a buzz on social media. The headliner’s agent and/or record company wants to check out a new artist, or push an artist they’ve just signed. Oh, and a friend of a friend of a friend said it would work…

And, frequently, the opening artist got the gig because they’re inexpensive, their setup is simple, they’re easy to deal with — and they won’t upstage the headliner.

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QUICK STORY #1

Loryn Taggart is a young singer-songwriter, now based in Montreal, who recently released a highly praised debut album. Before the pandemic, however, she opened two shows for Donovan Woods in a 300-seat hall in a small rural community two hours north of Toronto; both shows were sold out.

How did she get the gig? “I think a friend may have sent a link to a video I did to Julien Paquin, who’s the best agent I know for the sort of music I do. Or, maybe Julien had heard something about me and wanted to check me out — he just offered me the gig and I accepted it,” she says.

“It went pretty well; the audiences probably didn’t know who on earth I was, but they listened, seemed to like it and applauded and emptied my merch table. Afterwards, though he never asked for it, I sent Julien a 10 per cent commission. I think that surprised him.”

She’s applied for a showcase at the NXNE festival coming up in June; if she’s chosen, she’s going to make a point to invite Paquin and some other agents so they see a live performance. “I may have to hire a limo to bring them there,” she says. “If that’s what it takes, I’ll do it…”

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What can go wrong for the opening artist?

Oh boy, this can be a long list.

Well, pretend you’re the opener: your van can break down, your GPS stops working, you take the wrong highway or the wrong interchange. Shit! You’re lost.

You don’t get a sound check because you’re late, or because the headliner’s setup is too elaborate/complicated/time-consuming. You’ll be lucky to get a third of the main act’s lighting setup.

Oh, and the audience doesn’t even know there is an opener and that you’re on the bill. Nobody introduces you, the agent you wanted to impress didn’t show up, and half the audience is in the lobby getting drinks. And even the headliner doesn’t know who you are.

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QUICK STORY #2

At Toronto’s Massey Hall, an elderly gentleman stands outside the opening band’s dressing room, carefully and slowly copying the name, from the sign on the door, on a slip of paper: “the… Downchild… Blues… Band…”

As B.B. King comes toward the end of his show, he tells the audience: “Wherever we play, we ask the promoter to get a good band to open for us. They set the mood, they make us play better and I could tell, from our dressing room, that you really appreciated.” The elderly gentleman, obviously part of the headliner’s crew, shuffles on stage and hands the headliner a slip of paper. King glances at it, and adds “…and I want to thank the Downchild Blues Band for their great show.”

Afterwards, the gentleman asks the opening band whether they would like to meet the headliner. They file into King’s dressing room, there are handshakes, compliments, photographs, signed autographs, and some lively conversation.

Outside the dressing room, in a lineup, stand the mayor of Toronto, the president of King’s Canadian record company, the CEO of Massey Hall, and some local writers, columnists and radio people.

But they have to wait. The headliner is acknowledging the opening band.

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Hints for opening artists

• Know your place, but insist beforehand that you’re listed in the advertising, named on the poster, and — this is important — on the ticket itself.

• Show up on time. Liaise with the headliner’s stage crew. Meet the star of the show and thank them for the opportunity.

• You’ll get a sound check when the headliner has finished theirs, not before. Be quick.

• Look good, calm your nerves, be confident, know you deserve to be there. Introduce yourself to the audience, even if someone’s already introduced you. Then say your name again when you end your set.

• Never play a second longer than the time allotted to you. Don’t try to upstage the headliner; you’re there to complement the headliner’s music, make a good impression with the audience, and build your career.

• Oh, and make sure you’re paid at least a minimum fee — union scale.

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QUICK STORY #3

At Toronto’s Danforth Music Hall, the opening artist is not listed, nor is she introduced. She doesn’t introduce herself, and she doesn’t speak between songs.

She is wearing a large floppy hat; the partial lighting, from overhead, means that the audience can’t see her face. To an indifferent response, she leaves the stage 10 minutes after her 30-minute spot should have ended.

Nobody knows who she is.

Or even what she looks like.

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Hints for headliners

• Before the show, meet the opening artist and welcome them warmly, and make sure your crew welcomes them too. If the opener is nervous, reassure them.

• Ensure the opener gets a decent sound check and decent lighting. Share whatever food, drink and hospitality you have in your dressing room. Make sure the opening artist can sell merch, if they have any.

• Why not go on stage at the beginning of the show and introduce the opening act yourself? Watch and listen to at least part of the opener’s set.

• During your set, remind your audience who the opener was and hopefully say something nice about them. And if you think they did a good job, tell your agent, your manager, your social media, your fans, and your audience.

• Above all, remember that you, too, were an opening act once.

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Harry Belafonte

FINAL QUICK STORY

Once upon a time, some 60 years ago, the biggest touring artist of them all was Harry Belafonte. He was handsome, charismatic, had platinum albums, and was a film star. In Toronto, he played 10 shows in the 3,200-seat O’Keefe Centre, and every single seat was sold, at what was then a high ticket price.

To begin every show, he would come out and sing six songs. Then he would pause, tell the audience about how he had discovered a marvellous artist that he was so happy to introduce them to, explain where his discovery had come from and why he valued their music so highly. The “opening” artist then did a 35-minute set before intermission.

In the second half, Belafonte would then do a full  set, including many of his hits — but the show always ended with him bringing the opening artist back on stage to sing three songs with him.

And that’s how Miriam Makeba, Nana Mouskouri, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee (among others) were introduced to mainstream audiences across North America.

Perhaps Harry Belafonte, of all people, is the patron saint of opening artists. He was a role model, and all these years later, his example deserves to be followed.

If God won’t save the opening artist, maybe — just maybe — the headliner will.

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Backstage in 1964: Richard Flohil, his sister Pippa, and Muddy Waters

THE BLUES ORIGINATORS PASS THE TORCH TO BRITISH NEWCOMERS

The 1964 American Blues and Gospel Train has landed in London; a who’s-who of blues artists will perform tonight at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon, a south London suburb, as part of a 10-date tour in Britain.

On the bus, as it trundles past the House of Parliament and Big Ben, are Muddy Waters, Otis Spann, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Reverend Gary Davis (billed as Blind Gary Davis), Cousin Joe Pleasant and bassist Ransom Knowling and drummer Willie ”Big Eyes” Smith (billed as Little Willie Smith).

My younger sister and I, on vacation in Britain, have met Muddy at the tour’s hotel, The Strand Palace, and are sitting at the back of the bus while the young American tour manager goes over the arrangements for the show. “We’re playing an 1,800-seat hall tonight,” he said. “Sold out weeks ago.

“Everyone does five numbers each, but if we run overtime, we’ll cut back; just watch for my signals. Cousin Joe opens tonight with the band, then the order we figured out in the hotel.”

At the theatre — a complex of three venues and an art gallery — the band settles into the backstage green room area, and orders drinks from the bar. It’s odd, because tonight the blues artists are sharing the area with the occupants of the other halls — a posse of steroid-packed wrestlers and a group of sweet old folk from the South Croydon Ladies Gardening Club.

An upright piano stands in a corner, unplayed, but Sister Rosetta sits on the piano bench, wrapped in white fur, and apart from the others. The ladies sip their sherry and gin and tonic, the wrestlers down pints, and the blues people play cards and rip into Jack Daniels and Canadian Club whiskey.

Muddy and Otis Spann are playing “coon can” (a.ka. conquian or konkar) a speedy rummy game that involves slapping down cards, good-natured shouting and the frantic exchange of pound notes. The Reverend Davis — another island of solitude — stares sightlessly into an imaginary middle-distance, clutching his cane. Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee sit at opposite ends of the room, as far from each other as possible. Cousin Joe leans against the bar, sipping warm British beer and chatting with a couple of the wrestlers.

Waiting for them, in the audience, is a new generation of British musicians: Long John Baldry, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, John Mayall and more.

The torch is about to be passed.

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QUICK POSTSCRIPT AND A PERSONAL NOTE

The tour manager of the Blues and Gospel Train was Joe Boyd, who later went on to a distinguished career as a producer, record label head and writer. He produced Pink Floyd’s first single and an array of great albums by (among many others) Fairport Convention, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, 10,000 Maniacs, Maria Muldaur, R.E.M. and was one of several people who played a role in shepherding Mary Margaret O’Hara’s Miss America album.

He founded Hannibal Records, a pioneer roots music label. He invented the term “world music” and he wrote one of the funniest music books ever, White Bicycles.

(Note: I’ve long lost, or lent, my copy — if anyone has one, or knows how to find one, please let me know!)

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YOUR WEEKEND VIDEO LINK

Canadian blues star Colin James introduces a classic Muddy Waters song, recorded at the CBC studios in Toronto in 1966:

A three minute classic — “I was Born with the Blues” — by Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry…. talk about a message!

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COMING UP IN 10 DAYS

The first of two successive Substacks on the late Stompin’ Tom Connors, the Canadian country music icon. And there’ll be a couple of outrageous Stompin’ Tom stories, as a special bonus for paid subscribers to Stories from the Edge of Music.

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