A band member is suddenly ill before a live performance. How do you navigate this unexpected challenge?

(Manager's perspective) This happened to me a few weeks ago! A band member became physically ill 10 minutes before stage time. Important to stay calm, pragmatic and put the band member first! Regularly check in to see if they need anything. Communicate with the venue manager and sound tech early on - they will understand! Delaying the stage time, or even having to cancel the show is not the end of the world. The fans will always understand.

I dont have a band, But if I did I would help to organise "the band " to take on any of the duties, the member had who was missing. I do have a crew, we can basically do that as we have had someone be ill on a gig. But I would think it would be hard if say, the drummer went ill. You could look into playing instrumentals in the background to compensate or picking songs that would be ok as an acoustic version. Really, it is the customer you have to think about and not let them down, So getting by the best possible way is a must.

Be prepared for these situations prior to performing live. If you have to cancel a gig at your local pub due to band sickness, these things happen and that pub might just not have you back again… But if you’re playing functions e.g weddings and events you need to be prepared as the clients are paying good money for your product. 1. Create a large catalog of musicians and surround yourself with them, local and far. The more musicians you network with the more of a chance you can find a last minute replacement for a gig. 2. Have high quality backing tracks. Some prefer not to use backing tracks and that’s fine.. but if it comes to it and your drummer can’t make the gig, a simple backing track can save the day and your reputation.

Sometimes, rearranging the repertoire or set of songs can remedy that situation. Perhaps one can replace the tunes that the ill band member normally plays in. There was a time when my drummer couldn’t play due to a severe illness. We made our set an “acoustic” set in which we only played songs not needing percussion. Just piano , bass and sax.

One thing that sometimes works well: figure out if one of the band members has solo material or is able to perform one or two cover songs as fillers to buy time.

This happens more frequently than you may think, especially if the band is larger. Having acoustic/ stripped down / electronic-assisted versions available for your track list, with minor alterations so the song still feels and sounds full, is always recommended!

As former NFL player Trent Shelton says, “your transparency will lead to other people’s transformation“. Although not an exact 1:1 correlation to this post - imagine getting on stage and saying to the crowd… “so here is the deal :)” or “we have something a little different for you tonight… bear with us!”, even jokingly asking “does anyone here play bass?!”. Especially if it’s really close to the set/performance time, you may not have time to make drastic adjustments. If everyone in the audience knows what to expect, that road may be bumpy, there may be hiccups, etc., you may garner a lot more grace and understanding from the crowd. Something magical may happen, and it’s good social media fodder!

Bring basic medical supplies on the road! You never know when they might come in handy and could be the difference between the show happening or not.