There are artists that do shows and then there are artists who perform.

Seeing an artist perform live can sometimes make or break fans appreciation for artists, it can even gain artists new fans. But the job of being a performer isn’t an easy one. To get a crowd hyped up, capture and sustain their attention, and bring the energy is no small task for artists. Now there are definitely things that can help with this, the most basic being practice through doing smaller shows.

But on top of it learning how to move around a stage, interact with the crowd, having a DJ or backing vocals to support, and more can all be keys in getting things right. Then there’s the set list and choice of whether it’s going to be done with a live band or backing track. Then even with the backing track it needs to be a PA track otherwise artists end up just shouting over their songs or lip syncing.

With such a tough task it’s no wonder some artists performances are coveted, and become springboards for gaining fans – especially when the videos from shows drop. Now coronavirus might be affecting things at the moment with a few shows being cancelled let’s keep a positive outlook here. With festival season approaching and a whole host of artists shows ahead here is a short list of some of the performers you need to be seeing if you get the chance.

Ghetts

A true master of ceremonies, and a specialist over 140 BPM’s British trademark sound. Having developed his skills through live radio sets and plenty of shows, Ghetts is a veteran. Throughout those years he has provided unheard of amounts of energy to crowds across the globe and developed a live show that can’t be described. Even if you’re not a Grime or Ghetts fan, if you get the chance to see him go and I’d bet my last 50p that you’ll come out with a new appreciation for live performances.

Travis Scott

The king of the moshpit. If you haven’t seen footage of what his shows are like or been to one of his shows, where have you been? Travis is as much influenced by rockstars in his performance style as he is the traditional rap performance. He came up on shows with minimal production and shutting them down. Now he has real budget in his stage production, but the energy he brings and whips up at his shows is the same.

Little Simz

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The artist’s artist. Little Simz has been a talent that everybody has known about but doesn’t seem to shout about. She’s released several outstanding bodies of work as well as toured internationally and even hosted her own festival. When it comes to being on stage and performing she has experimented with a variety of tricks, she has a lot up her sleeve. Most recently it’s been performing whilst also acting as part of the band whether it’s on the drums or playing the guitar, Simz seems to strive for perfection in everything. Her performances are like our next entry’s, not always the most hyped or mosh pit style, with fans that are really in tune with the artist and what they bring to the table.

Dave

Dave is by far the most political out of all of these names, and most recently it has been his political messages in performances that had people in a frenzy. But aside from this Dave is an amazing performer. Whether he goes for the classic approach of the artist with a mic or decides to showcase his ability to play the piano, Dave‘s performances are captivating. It obviously helps that he has great content that is gripping to listen to but he translates that extremely well by really tapping into the emotiveness in his delivery. His showcase at the BRIT’s had tabloids and certain groups of the public in uproar, but those not outraged could see just how important and impactful a performance he gave.

Tory Lanez

This man has done more climbing and jumping at his shows than most Hall of Fame WWE wrestlers. The fact that he’s an R&B artist makes this even more surprising. But despite this or maybe because of that R&B label Tory Lanez has curated his shows to be non-stop packed with energy. Maybe it’s just that we forget Tory is also an accomplished rapper that we expect him to perform like a traditional R&B performer would, but he’s the furthest thing from it.