A Lesson for Indie Musicians from Maroon 5’s Adam Levine

I remember once writing a weekly blog that I posted on this site, talking about not letting it go to your head if you move to a major music mecca like Los Angeles, Nashville, or New York.  And three nights ago, I was thrilled to see an A-lister remember their roots and take a 20,000-seat amphitheater and turn it into a listening room environment – even if just for one song.  It made that much of an impact.

The headliner that I’m referring to was Maroon 5 and the moment in their show that I’m focusing on happened very close to the end (well, before the encore).  And it’s a great lesson in setting an example for aspiring performers that you’re never too big to (a) express your heartfelt appreciation to the crowd for their support, and (b) mix things up and take some time to really talk about an original song.

Regarding the first point, yes, of course, I know, every performer thanks the audience.  But doing it just because it’s the thing to do, whereby it’s almost just an auto-pilot behavior is not going to come across as sincere.  Being at the point where Maroon 5 is – almost at the 20-year mark – and telling the audience (in what came across as truly genuine) that they aren’t taken for granted, that goes a long way.  Adam Levine described the band’s beginnings and said they never could have imagined back then someday playing in front of a crowd like what he was talking to in Tampa on Friday night.

And I get it.  He’s not the first performer to say that.  But I was there, and I’ve been to lots and lots (and lots) of concerts and this time it really did feel like he absolutely meant it from his heart, one hundred percent.

This was at the same time that Maroon 5 was performing “She Will Be Loved” (pictured above), which Levine stopped before the bridge to talk about.  Extensively.  And that was so impactful – such a nice change – that it prompted me to write a whole blog about it.

At the level that they are, it’s easy – and exceptionally common – for a band just to “wash, rinse, repeat,” as the saying goes, and come out, play all their hits, leave the stage, and go on to the next city.  It’s a very rare thing when a show like that stops so that the lead singer can sit on a stool alongside a fellow band member (playing acoustic guitar) to talk about the roots of the song.  But that’s exactly what Adam Levine led.  It didn’t matter that the crowd had been whipped into a frenzy and the fans were knee deep in the fun.

Hearing Levine vividly describe the night two decades earlier when “She Will Be Loved” was written made me feel like I was at a songwriters festival.  I don’t know that I can tell you another major concert that I’ve been to where the headliner created that type of environment for me.  Hearing about coming up with a guitar hook and listening to Levine tell the story of waking up and finishing the song the next morning with his bandmates was something I wish more A-listers would do from the stage rather than just what we expect them to do.

So while I always root for the up-and-comer and have largely availed myself to the indie performers who are aspiring to one day be A-listers, I encourage you DIY-ers to take a page from Adam Levine’s book and remember that you’re never too big to remember the fans who stuck with you and got you to the big stages, and that you can always still change the mood and break down a song – when you wrote it, why you wrote it, where you wrote it, and who you wrote it with.  Ignore your ego telling you otherwise because if multi-millionaire Adam Levine can do it, so can you.

Take advantage of my more than 15 years working with indie artists from around the U.S. as I’ve run Now Hear This.  Schedule a private, one-on-one, online video consultation with me to get some insights that will help your music career.  And let me hear from you about this blog too.  Share your feedback with me on Twitter or put it in a post on Facebook or on LinkedIn.  Alternatively, you can send me an email instead.