"Am I a bad friend for not showing up?"

Summertime is for shows!

We love our friends, and there’s no doubt we’d show up to support them at their shows.

With summertime coming up, it'll be pretty nonstop.

If you’re in a city, there’s probably something happening every weekend.

So what happens if you don’t go? If you stop showing up to your friends’ shows for a bit, does that make you a bad friend?

Isn't that crazy to notice?

A lot of artists feel this weird pressure to be everywhere at once.

And when they’re not, there’s a quiet feeling in the back of their head like “I should be there,” like FOMO, or "the fear of missing out."

No need to fret, though. Just because you can show up every weekend doesn’t mean you always should.

And not showing up sometimes doesn’t automatically mean you care any less.

It might just mean you’re trying to figure out how to take care of your own time, your own energy, or, honestly, just your own life for a second.

Let's be honest. There’s already a lot going on.

You’ve got your own craft.

Your own responsibilities.

Your own life outside of all of this.

Trying to be everywhere, all the time, adds up faster than you think.

If you’re an artist…

you probably already know how much goes into putting on a show.

So if you can’t make it sometimes…

it doesn’t mean you don’t support your friends.

It might just look different for you in that moment.

If you’re a manager…

this might look like helping your artist find that balance a bit.

Being part of a community matters…

but so does not burning out trying to keep up with everything.

What's my takeaway here? You don’t have to prove you’re a good friend by being everywhere all the time.

Sometimes support looks like showing up when you can and giving yourself space when you need it.

If you’re in that spot right now, it makes sense. A lot of people are trying to figure that out without really saying it.

— Justin
The Mindful Artist Manager