There is a first time for everything and for Trevor Ross he enjoyed his first time headlining a show as a solo act on Dec. 1 at the Humboldt Golf Club for Arts Humboldt’s Performers Café.
Playing his first show was a little nerve racking, admits Ross, noting that his anxiety levels increased a little bit.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time so I know that that’s coming and I can expect it and once you get singing and interacting with the crowd and stuff like that it just kind of settles in.”
Ross says he put a large focus on the show and making it a good experience for the crowd, which made it much easier to get settled in.
“One thing about doing your own production like that it keeps you busy and keeps your mind occupied on that and you’re not kind of freaking out about the performance side of things.”
Considering it was his first show Ross was really pleased with how it went.
“I didn’t bumble anything too bad, I didn’t forget many words, I didn’t drop anything or anything like that so I think it went over pretty good from my perspective I’m pretty happy with the way it went.”
Making the leap and playing the show by himself was a big step for Ross, but an important one he says.
“If you don’t step outside the box then the box stays the same size so you step outside your box, you just step into a bigger box. So it was just new experiences, just pushing the envelope a little bit. As an artist and as a performer just trying to grow and continue to grow and keep growing.”
Looking to add some “texture” and a little “flavour” to his show Ross included some local musicians including Shandor Gray and Ken Sogge, who are members of the band One Track Mind, which Ross is also part of and he also asked his daughter Emma Ross to join him as well.
Ross kicked off the concert playing the first song he sang during his first performance and continued on with songs he wrote, songs his father wrote and many others, before finishing off with a couple of Christmas songs.
Coming up with a set list was a big part of the show, says Ross, who acknowledges at first he was worried he would not even know enough songs to do two 45-minute sets.
“I ended up with way more than I needed and I had to actually pare it down quite a bit to make sure that people got out of here at 9:30 or 10:00 and not 12:00 or 1:00.”
After having such an extensive list Ross says he just whittled it down to songs the he enjoyed and songs he “felt really close to.”
“There was a couple of new ones there that I’ve never performed before but I thought they were appropriate and they were kind of special to me and I wanted to be able to play them for friends and family.”
The show was a packed house with approximately 100 people in attendance, which was extremely humbling, says Ross.
“I’ve been in Humboldt for just about 20 years now and you’ve got a pretty big circle of friends and it’s just nice to see everybody support each other in that way.”
Arts Humboldt President, Tanya Schuler, says it was really nice to be able to have Ross come and play for the audience because it is really important to Arts Humboldt that they showcase local talent.
“We do have so much in the area and we just love to give them a chance and this opportunity.”
The show was also boosted by local businesses, which “means a lot,” says Schuler.
“It just creates a community, which is what we are and we love to be apart of it.”
Looking ahead, Arts Humboldt is hosting another performers café on Jan. 12 at the Bella Vista, with the café featuring poets, who will be reading short stories and poetry.
“It’s a little different but it’s also part of once again our mandate of just performing arts in all varieties bringing them to the community and into Humboldt,” says Schuler.
