Before almost every show, an artist is supporting the main headliner, commonly of the same genre and style as whoever you are waiting to see. For some of these supporting artists, it could be their first tour or the biggest venues they have ever played, and it is a very big deal!
Performing in front of a large crowd, possibly for the first time, can be extremely daunting and out of their comfort zone. However, it is such a special thing for some of these smaller artists, who have been waiting and hoping to achieve their dreams of getting their music out there.
You won’t be the only one who isn’t exactly a fan or aware of their songs, but your attention to their set means more to them than you would expect. I sometimes find the crowd struggling to hide their boredom, whether they are having conversations with their friends or scrolling through social media. The support acts are very aware of this and can hear the hum of conversations or see the lights of your phones.
Griff’s Take
Pop singer Griff recently uploaded a humorous TikTok based on this subject, where she rated the audience while she opened for chart-topper Dua Lipa:
Griff is amazing for finding the humour in these crowd reactions but, hopefully, this makes the crowd aware that they can be seen by the support! The video racked up over four million views and the comments are full of people laughing at the different crowd reactions.
Artists open for headliners for an average of 30 to 40 minutes so, in future, we should all make the effort to give the support our undivided attention for that short amount of time. We should make them feel confident and listened to. Considering all their hard work, let’s support the support acts!