Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/the-20-strange-superstitions-musicians-still-follow-before-going-onstage/
Backstage at a major arena, minutes before showtime, the lights are dim and the crowd is already buzzing. A guitarist quietly refuses to touch his instrument. A singer lights a candle and stares at the flame. A drummer spots a banana in the catering spread and physically recoils. None of this is drama for its own sake. It’s ritual, and in the music world, ritual is practically a religion.
Performing live can be a nerve-wracking experience, and the challenge of entertaining a room full of people can lead musicians to develop some pretty unique pre-show rituals that are essentially superstitious in nature. Research published by Harvard Business Review found that performing a ritual before a stressful task can actually help alleviate anxiety, with researchers conducting experiments where participants performed rituals before high-stakes situations, ultimately concluding that doing so can ease anxiety and lead to better performance. The superstitions below range from mildly quirky to genuinely hard to explain – but every single one is still practiced today.
1. Never Say “Good Luck” Before a Show
Performers across the music world know to say “Break a leg!” instead of “Good luck!” before going onstage, because wishing someone good luck is thought to bring the exact opposite. This isn’t a casual preference or polite tradition – many musicians take it seriously enough that a misdirected…
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Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-04-14 11:00:00
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