Stage Fire, College Tour

Standing at the front of the stage, back to the crowd, mic in hand — this was me as the lead vocalist during our college band's campus tour in the summer of 2017.

We played a circuit of universities that season, loading gear into vans and setting up on stages we'd never seen before. The crowds were loud, the monitors were never quite right, and none of us really knew what we were doing. But on nights like this one, when the orange light hit and the crowd pressed forward, it didn't matter. The energy took over.

I learned something about performing on that tour that I still carry: the moment you stop thinking about yourself and start listening to the room, everything clicks.