Samirah Evans
Jazz Vocalist
“‘My voice is my instrument. It’s the glue that manages to bring people from all ethnicities and walks of life together in the same space.’”
Honestly, a day in the life of a musician definitely has its ups and downs. It can be extremely exhausting. In my case, I’m a jazz vocalist. My voice is my instrument. Consequently, I have to hire musicians to accompany me, preferably those who work with me often. This can be a task when the musicians you work with are free agents. Because of the nature of our business, unless you are one of the lucky ones who have made it big making millions of dollars, musicians have to take gigs as they come. So it’s best if you’re able to give them a good string of gigs to cultivate loyalty. Since I’m not rolling in the million dollar dough category, it’s prudent to have a list of able musicians that I can call on if my first call musicians aren’t available. When this happens, my time is relegated to going down my list to find the right fit. This entails making phone calls, sending emails and hoping for a sooner-rather-than-later response in order to move forward.
Samirah sings Autumn Leaves, Town Hall Theater in Middlebury VT
Next step…prepping for rehearsal; which requires prepping on my part to prep the musicians. And if you are not consistently presenting the same show, that means deciding on material for multiple repertoires, song lists, charts, and audio references for the songs. Sometimes I have to hire someone to write charts for me. Because that’s not my skill set and I don’t have time for it, so it’s an expense.
I also have to interface with the promoters of the venue, provide them a list of needs I have for the stage, meals, and overnight accommodations, as well as promotional materials like photos, bios, in addition to contractual forms. Sometimes, there are multiple promoters requiring this information all at once, even if the concert is a year later. And as I said, it’s not always the same band or it might be a sub that I have to gather information from. All of this is very tedious and time-consuming work.
I also have to update my website, send out newsletters to my fans and promote my concerts on social media. Did I mention this requires a lot of time in front of the computer? Well, that in itself is very exhausting.
Then there is rehearsal, renting a space at a location that accommodates musicians coming from different locations, often an hour or so away.
There’s also the driving. I live in Vermont, but I barely ever perform or rehearse in Vermont, so those are more expenses to contend with.
Oh! Most importantly, I have to practice to prepare for the rehearsals and upcoming gigs that may not be all the same musicians or repertoire.
On top of everything I mentioned so far, like most musicians, I teach music. I am a jazz vocal instructor at Williams College. That’s over an hour from where I live. There is a lot of work that comes with being a teacher as well, including auditioning, scheduling, preparing students and their accompanist for their end of the semester recitals and grading. I also teach vocals in my home studio. Teaching augments my performance income. It’s necessary because performance income is not always certain due to weather or other circumstances—like the pandemic that we are still plagued with. We can’t work if we have Covid. To be honest, little is guaranteed with what we do as artists. I lost a lot of my home students due to Covid and it’s never really been the same again.
This all might make you wonder…WOW…why would you want to be a musician? Well, to me it’s one of the most loving “give and take” experiences in a world of so much strife. It’s the glue that manages to bring people from all ethnicities and walks of life together in the same space. There is nothing that makes me happier than making others happy, or being the conduit of my audience feeling what they need to feel in that moment of taking in the music. The fact that I am cultivating others to be able to continue this work is a big part of my life’s mission. It’s really a gift to others and myself, as performing and teaching also serves as a place of refuge in my own personal life. I wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.
Lastly, I want to share my deep appreciation for the work the New England Musicians Resource Fund does for us New England artists. They were an enormous support resource for me and other artists I know who struggled through the pandemic. A time when musicians work was severely impacted and were the last to regain our work and livelihood.
Samirah Evans & Her Handsome Devils New Orleans Tribute to Fats Domino, as recorded live.