Reba McEntire on Performing Live: 6 Live Performance Tips

Reba McEntire is a world-class country music singer and songwriter. Reba topped the Billboard charts with her “Can’t Even Get the Blues” in 1983 and became one of the most popular country musicians in the late twentieth century. Throughout her decades-long career, the singer has accumulated twenty-four hit singles, three Grammy wins, and 28 albums certified platinum, gold, or silver. She currently holds the record for the female artist with the most CMA Award nods, with a whopping 50 nominations. Reba has also found success as an actor and TV star in the early 2000s, best known for “Buffalo Girls,” “Is There Life Out There?” and her starring role in the sitcom “Reba.” To date, Reba has released more than 30 albums and singles.

Live performance has existed as part of human culture for thousands of years. It includes live music performances, theater performances, and dance performances. Artists can capture performances on video or on audio, but performing live in front of audiences is an opportunity to showcase their artistry and connect with audiences.

For singers like Reba McEntire, live performance requires physical stamina, vocal prowess, memorization skills, and stage presence. Artists must have the ability to command an audience, physically perform up to an hour’s worth of music, remember an entire set list and accompanying choreography and movement, and fill an auditorium with their voice. “Performing is really important to an artist because it gives them an outlet of all their energy and their creativity and their need to be on stage,” Reba says.

Reba McEntire has performed live for more than forty years, in venues big and small. Follow her tips to put on a show for a live audience:

1. 1. Create a captivating setlist. Reba builds her setlist with her band members. The setlist should have a beginning, middle, and end, and feature a mix of songs that audiences know and love and songs with special significance. “Your first song has to be something that gets everybody excited [that] you're there,” Reba says.
2. 2. Find inspiration. Reba watches other performers to see how they grab the audience’s attention and command the stage. Among her favorite performers are Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Tammy Wynette. “I could not watch them enough,” she says. “I would sit through their concert three times in one setting. Not only because [of] what they sing, but what they say in between their songs. It was just so endearing and I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh, I wanna be just like them.’”
3. 3. Get feedback. Ask your band members and team members to critique your performance. Reba says performers can improve their stage presence and performance skills through feedback, so it is essential to have a team who are “your eyes and your ears, and report back to you. . . .That's what teamwork is all about.”
4. 4. Make eye contact. Make eye contact with the audience while performing. This can ease stage fright and help the audience invest in your performance. “The more you do it, the more comfortable you get,” Reba adds. Whenever she performs, even in a large auditorium, Reba makes “an effort to see everybody in the audience. People will come back after the show and say, ‘Oh my gosh, you were singing that song right to me.’”
5. 5. Perform through nervousness. Nervousness is a natural part of live performance, no matter if it’s your first time or hundredth time performing. “For anybody who's dreading live performances because of nerves, accept that as a gift,” Reba says. “Turn that into anticipation. The adrenaline that you get from that nervousness—make it positive. Make good out of bad.”
6. 6. Tell a story. Show the audience who you are and showcase your point of view to them. Reba tells the audience stories between songs at her concerts. These transitions provide the audiences with context and a special experience. “Folks in the audience can listen to you on the radio or at home on a record player, a CD player, wherever,” she says. “But, to hear this little special story you're gonna tell, give some of your personality to them, that's rare.”

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