Those Who Play Shows Together, Grow Together

There’s something about going through an ordeal that brings people together. 

At Incubator, the ordeal is typically a house show. It’s a deadline. It’s something people volunteer for to keep themselves accountable because they decided they wanted to do something. Even when it’s hard or scary.  

And when they overcome their fears and do the thing, they usually feel great. Especially because they did with their bandmates and there was an audience to witness it. 

It’s something everyone can feel as it happens. It changes us. 

When you play a house show here, you gain something. Confidence, maybe. Friends probably. Or you learn something about yourself.

And you’re able to do that because you risked something. Social embarrassment or disappointing yourself. Whatever it is, those who play a show do it anyway and they grow together in the process.  

Growing together is sadly a rarity as an adult in America. Most get stuck in a repetitive cycle, doing the same things over and over again.

Work, chores, family time, sleep. The only thing to look forward to a dopamine hit from their chosen habit. 

When you embark on a house show, nobody knows how it’s going to go. It’s in that environment that the strongest relationships form. 

I’ve watched countless friendships blossom because people decided to break their cycle and walk into the unknown.

The crazy thing it doesn’t take long to form strong social bonds. It can happen over 4 rehearsals. 

The thing that binds people together is the ordeal. The pressure of the show. 

It takes strength to deal with that pressure. For many adults, you can go years without pushing yourself to do something new and then it’s really hard to do. The muscles it takes atrophy. 

That’s why I have so much respect for everyone who’s played an Incubator house show. It would be so much easier to watch TV, but instead we’re growing together. 

We’re forming strong social bonds with each other over a shared love of music. All in a safe space that allows for creative expression.

We’re a community whose members are growing together. That’s pretty cool.