I've been playing out for years and I have some basic thoughts I use to quell my butterflies: 1) You will make mistakes, but you will notice them, your audience probably will not. People are there to listen not to criticize. If you make a mistake, keep smiling and play on. 2)It's your show. The audience is there to see you. Don't worry about other guitar players in the audience. If they were so smart, why are they listening to you play instead of vice-versa? Where are they playing that night? 3) Finally, my best friend always says: Play it loud, play it proud. It takes real guts to get up onstage, most people wouldn't dream of doing it. Simply because you or I walk up to a microphone with a guitar we've already done something extraordinary. Good Luck. You'll be fine.
