Gigging at the Airport
Playing a song for the one who needs it
I actually really enjoy playing music at the Austin airport.
I've been playing once a month for most of the past 8 years or so (kinda lost track, thanks covid). We are super blessed in Austin with multiple music venues at the airport, most of them for solo acts, but a few stages big enough for duos or full band.
When I first started this, I was kinda new to gigging alone, but a good friend who plays there regularly vouched for me, and the booking agent took a chance. We have since become friends and they seem to like having me there. I’ve noticed that what I might lack in flashiness doesn’t really matter much, but what does is that I connect with the guests, show up on time, play a solid set, and have a good rapport with everyone.
The pay is good, they provide backline and sound (SHOUTOUT TO MIKE AND THE SOUND TEAM), and you can be home before dinner which is especially great if I have another event that night. I have to get a guest employee badge and go through the security checkpoint, but fortunately can skip the line. Everybody plays two 50-minute sets with a 20 minute break in the middle. Regulars are rotated between venues so we all get a chance to play at the best tipping spots. Some venues are better fits for me than others. This week I am playing at the wine bar, which is usually a very good fit for me and my song choices.
It’s always great to meet the other musicians there, too. Most of us are just folks that want to work, and this is what our work looks like. There’s some ridiculous talent sneaking under the radar at the airport. People have no idea that while they are eating their burger and listening to someone for free that the very same musician might have a show that night charging $25-30 per ticket for entry. (And then they don’t tip, which is dumb. Always tip a live human musician. Always. Always. Always.)
Oh, and yes: I see famous people there. Some of them are famous musicians. Nothing more nervewracking than knowing you are playing for a multiple Grammy winner sitting right in front of you. There are probably way more than I even know. I try not to think about that and just see everyone as regular people. I’m not looking for my big break.
Because the biggest reason I enjoy playing there so much is that there is always at least one listener that really needed that song today. Every venue is full of different people - solo business travelers, drunk tech bros in herds, families struggling with wiggly kids and travel gear, lovebirds, folks going home, folks leaving home, every single one with a different story of why they are there right at that moment. They didn’t come to hear music. But sometimes the song they need finds them.
Sometimes the song they need finds them.
I have a setlist prepared, usually not memorized, because I come with 35-40 songs in my queue, chosen based on my experience with the venue, and backups to spare. Then I read the room and try to play what I think will connect with the vibe and the demographic of the day. The airport staff encourages original music, it’s part of the Austin identity of “Live Music Capital of the World.” But in the field, original music isn’t always the best way to connect with people who didn’t intentionally seek it out. People like what they know. So usually I strike a balance of two covers for each original song. Still, putting your own spin on a cover song is often a good idea. I like to take guitarish songs and make them piano songs, and vice versa.
Often people pretend they aren’t listening, but I catch them mouthing lyrics or glancing up at me. Some people truly aren’t interested, they have their airpods in, they’re talking on the phone, sometimes so brazen in their disinterest that they will choose a table next to the speaker while they are talking on the phone. I don’t understand that one. But I try to focus on the ones who are listening, even if they pretend not to be.
And I pray for them, that something will connect with their heart and make their day just a little bit better. Every single time there has been at least one person I have been able to have a conversation with, about a song, or why they are traveling, some small way to make them feel seen.
This is, after all, the reason I make music. To connect. To bless. That’s the most satisfying part of the job.
I’m playing a song for the one who needs it.
This week’s setlist (no particular order at the moment):
Don’t Know Why - Norah Jones
A Million Reasons - Lady Gaga
Spark - me
City of Stars - La La Land
Year of Decembers - Chris Beall
Mashup: I’ll Stand By You/Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me - Pretenders/Elton John
Down By the Water - The Decemberists
Short Story Long - me
The Story - Brandi Carlile
King of Nothin - me
Hold On - Sarah MacLachlan
Small Talk - me
One - U2
Power of Love - Huey Lewis
More Like a Woman - me
For What It’s Worth - Buffalo Springfield
Humankind - me
Somewhere Over the Rainbow - Judy Garland
Love Song - Sara Bareilles
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
Shift - me
Heart of the Matter - Don Henley
The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
Rainbow - Kacey Musgraves
Beg Steal Borrow - Ray La Montagne
Cover Me Up - Jason Isbell
Travel Light - me
Slow Burn - Kacey Musgraves
Orange Datsun Station Wagon - me
Ocean Eyes - Billie Eilish
Faded Into Gray - me
Ship to Wreck - Florence and the Machine
Bridges - me
Skinny Love - Bon Iver
Farewell - Bob Dylan
Never the Twain Shall Meet - me
Make You Feel My Love - Adele
God Only Knows - me
Ordinary World - Duran Duran
You’ve Got a Friend in Me - Randy Newman
What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
This is a GREAT post! So happy you are sharing on Substack and everywhere❤️✨
Amy, this is so cool! I had no idea that airports even do this?? Obviously, I do not fly hardly ever (I've flown twice in the last decade LOL).