[Andreas]

Well, I went through with it! I was nervous, still after 5-6 beers, but it went great. Standing ovation from all of my family. Missed a few lines here and there, and some chords misplayed, and I looked down at my guitar too much, but to be the first time in a long time, I think it went well. Will post the video of it as soon as I get it from my uncle Thank you all for the good words and support!

[cowparsleyman]

Well done indeed

[Andreas]

As promised, here is the second song I sang! The first one, I haven't gotten a hold of yet but it will come You can see how nervous I was, tripping a little forth and back and missing some words (lucky I was the only one knowing the words) and playing wrong twice :p But I survived!

[pompeyjazz]

Bravo indeed Man. In front of the family. You can do ANYTHING now

[adamfarr]

Bravo - I would probably have heart palpitations if I had to do this. (Though for sure I would practice like crazy beforehand!) Your voice has a lovely tone here. The stripped back guitar works well and keeping it simple is a clever choice.

[Andreas]

Thanks a lot! It took some real nerves to stand up and go through with it, and my heart was beating constantly, but now that I know it's not so scary, I believe I can stand on a bigger stage in the end.

[Skub]

Bravo indeed Man. In front of the family. You can do ANYTHING now

Yeah,what John said. Playing to family in an intimate setting is way harder than in front of a large audience. Big crowds = impersonal.

That's you rollin' now man. 

[RealKevM]

I think it's very normal to be nervous before performing but actual stage fright is awful! My first gig around a year ago was horrific, I was excited yet extremely nervous and my performance was absymal, to the point I had my back to the audience for most of it lol
As with most things we do, perservering and keeping playing live helps to shed those nerves and also having a confident mindset. I'm not the best singer in the world but when I now play live I think to myself that I know my songs i'm about to play are better than anyone else's they will hear that night.

[rightly]

Although I've come across some insightful replies on this thread, regarding overcoming stage fright ,I'd still say it's unavoidable and painful at the beginning.
The stage environment is so unnatural for anyone.

I did find that doing it often, very often, one starts to identify as a songwriter/performer.
When this happens it's a good thing, then you can start really concentrating on what you're doing.
Only then do you have a fair chance.

It doesn't help much, does it?  Lol.