The B-List is a home for the everyday musician.

Those of us who have moved many times, played too many free gigs, taught late into the evening, and spent years honing our craft and becoming skilled. We found success, but not the “A-List” big orchestra, full time teaching positions that we were taught about and maybe dreamed about.

Music schools have known for some time now that they’re not training us to spend our lives working only in orchestras and academic settings, but yet it still feels like our instruction hasn’t caught up to preparing us for a modern career. Many of us leave school lacking the tools to care for our musical, mental, and physical health. Worse yet, we still leave with a sense that we will have failed if we never land that “A-list” job.

Being a musician is tough work. We have strange hours, and many people don’t understand what we do or why it’s so important for us to keep doing it. Playing an instrument is physically and mentally demanding even without the stress of paying bills and finding health care. It can feel natural for musicians to become jaded or bitter.

But what if our perception was off? What if the B-List was actually the place to be? If we could let go of the outdated ideas we’ve been taught and work on our lives, both musical and personal, from the inside out. Defining success is up to each of us individually, and it can include whatever pieces you’d like. Want to take auditions? Have a family? Find an adjunct teaching job? Start an ensemble or studio? Become an expert in something? Maintain your playing chops in tip-top shape? We don’t need to be A-Listers to do any of these things.

The B-List is a community - a blog and newsletter full of tools to use to curate your inner life, ideas about how to balance the demands of being a working musician, and personal anecdotes. A place for sharing mindfulness tools for approaching your goals in life while maintaining your perspective. A space for us to connect with ourselves and others.

I hope you’ll hang out and let me convince you that the B-List is prime real estate for spreading your wings. Spend as much time here as you like, drop your email below and get the newsletter, and if the ideas resonate with you check out the Creative Resilience page to learn how you can dig in further to exploring what tools are right for you.