I was delighted to have been selected to perform in the beautiful Gunwharf Quays for the Winter Sounds programme. I was very excited to be singing in the Square, directly in front of their big Christmas tree, and I immediately got to work.
The first thing I did was organise a set list; as I was going to be singing for an hour, I needed to have a good amount of music. Luckily, I already eight songs from the Christmas festival only six days previous, which equated to about 25 minutes, so that was big load off; I just had to choose about eight more.
Just as before, I wanted to sing only Christmas songs, and after a bit of searching, I managed to find 16 Christmassy themed songs to perform.
Once I had chosen the rest of my songs, I then had to pick something to wear. As I was singing from 5 – 6pm, it was going to be very cold, and keeping warm is a must. I eventually decided on a white jumper, pink skirt, and thermals, and my extremely warm white fur coat. (Faux fur, naturally!)
Just as before, I wanted to sing only Christmas songs, and after a bit of searching, I managed to find 16 Christmassy themed songs to perform.
Once I had chosen the rest of my songs, I then had to pick something to wear. As I was singing from 5 – 6pm, it was going to be very cold, and keeping warm is a must. I eventually decided on a white jumper, pink skirt, and thermals, and my extremely warm white fur coat. (Faux fur, naturally!)
When the day arrived, I packed my new battery powered amp (it was my first time using it, and I was really excited) my microphone and stand, and headed to Gunwharf. Even though it was getting late and dark, it was still busy.
I got set up in front of the Christmas tree, there was already a little crowd, and as I faced them, I suddenly felt very nervous. This was basically the same as busking, and I have never busked before, and so this was something new and scary. I suddenly felt too scared to even introduce myself, so I simply launched into my first, which again was “O Holy Night.” I began to grow more confident as I sang, especially as lots of shoppers kept stopping to watch me, and some were even filming me! That made me very happy, and I continued through my set list, which consisted of the following pieces:
O Holy Night
O Come All Ye Faithful
What Child Is This?
The First Noel
Pie Jesu
Walking In The Air
White Christmas
Away in a Manger
Ave Maria
Do You Hear What I Hear?
The Little Drummer Boy
Panis Angelicus.
As the night grew on, it got darker and colder, but I was prepared; I had a thermal hat, and thermal touchscreen gloves, which were lifesavers. I swear touchscreen gloves were invented for buskers.
While I was singing “Walking in the Air,” there was a little girl who was twirling around in front of me, which was adorable, and a lady, perhaps her mum, standing front of me, and filming both of us; it did make me break out into giggles. It was just the cutest thing ever. As they were leaving, I waved at the little girl, and she looked so happy.
I ended my set with “Panis Angelicus,” but unfortunately, I couldn't stick around to chat as my Nan had booked tickets to the Slava Snow Show in Southampton, and we had to leave right away if we wanted to get there on time. The show was absolutely amazing; I have no idea how to describe what I saw, but I was blown away.
All in all, I really enjoyed myself, and I consider this my first busking experience, which has made me want to get out and do it again.
I have a little snippet of "Walking In The Air" for you all; you can see me burst out giggling at the end!
I got set up in front of the Christmas tree, there was already a little crowd, and as I faced them, I suddenly felt very nervous. This was basically the same as busking, and I have never busked before, and so this was something new and scary. I suddenly felt too scared to even introduce myself, so I simply launched into my first, which again was “O Holy Night.” I began to grow more confident as I sang, especially as lots of shoppers kept stopping to watch me, and some were even filming me! That made me very happy, and I continued through my set list, which consisted of the following pieces:
O Holy Night
O Come All Ye Faithful
What Child Is This?
The First Noel
Pie Jesu
Walking In The Air
White Christmas
Away in a Manger
Ave Maria
Do You Hear What I Hear?
The Little Drummer Boy
Panis Angelicus.
As the night grew on, it got darker and colder, but I was prepared; I had a thermal hat, and thermal touchscreen gloves, which were lifesavers. I swear touchscreen gloves were invented for buskers.
While I was singing “Walking in the Air,” there was a little girl who was twirling around in front of me, which was adorable, and a lady, perhaps her mum, standing front of me, and filming both of us; it did make me break out into giggles. It was just the cutest thing ever. As they were leaving, I waved at the little girl, and she looked so happy.
I ended my set with “Panis Angelicus,” but unfortunately, I couldn't stick around to chat as my Nan had booked tickets to the Slava Snow Show in Southampton, and we had to leave right away if we wanted to get there on time. The show was absolutely amazing; I have no idea how to describe what I saw, but I was blown away.
All in all, I really enjoyed myself, and I consider this my first busking experience, which has made me want to get out and do it again.
I have a little snippet of "Walking In The Air" for you all; you can see me burst out giggling at the end!
Thank you again for reading my blog; I hope you enjoyed it.
Until next time
Lauren xx
Until next time
Lauren xx