I was very fortunate to get to The Great Escape Festival in Brighton last spring. This is a thrilling annual event which takes over dozens of spaces in the city to showcase up and coming talent. Hundreds of acts, none I had heard of before, playing their socks off in intimate venues at the start of their musical adventures- a real buzz. Alongside this sits a music conference which I happily got stuck into between nights out.
Sadly, despite being a huge fan, I am not a creator myself. I found myself gravitating to talks by others who sit in supporting roles, particularly some excellent presentations on mental health in the music industry.
I have a general interest in psychology, mental health and wellbeing and my wife is a pro- a Doctor of Clinical Psychology no less. I found these talks, about the trials of creating and performing, often with mental health conditions, fascinating.
The creator of this ‘Touring and Mental Health’ manual, Tamsin Embleton, hosted an excellent talk and I was keen to pick up the book to gain some insight into this world and the challenges of anyone involved in music tours. Having just finished it I can heartily recommend it to anyone who tours, or would like insight into those who do. To be honest, even as someone who is never likely to tour I found the succinct explanations of various types of neurodiversity and mental health conditions, group dynamics and teamworking, and insights into self-care valuable. Judging from it’s almost 5 star rating on Amazon I’m not the only one.
Action Point– If you tour, or know anyone who does, give it a read.
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