Offstage musicians and singers in popular music
Offstage musicians and singers are performers who play instruments and/or sing backstage, out of sight of the audience, during a live popular music concert at which the main band is visible playing and singing onstage. The sound from the offstage musicians or singers is captured by a microphone or from the output of their instrument, and this signal is mixed in with the singing and playing of the onstage performers using an audio console and a sound reinforcement system. Offstage backup singers are also used in some Broadway musicals, as have offstage instrumentalists, in cases where an onstage actor needs to appear to play an instrument.
At this West Pole Reloaded concert, while the keyboard player and celletto player performed onstage, the musician triggering the electronic instruments was located offstage for the performance.
The cast of the off-Broadway musical Rock of Ages. The singer in the top right of the third (back) row, Tad Wilson, is an offstage singer and understudy ("cover") for one of the onstage singers, in the event of illness.
The Devils & Dust Tour was a 2005 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen performing alone on stage on a variety of instruments. It followed the release of his 2005 album Devils & Dust. The tour was named the Top Small Venue Tour of 2005 by the Billboard Touring Awards.
Devils & Dust Tour
The paper handout.
On a dark stage. Continental Airlines Arena, May 19, 2005.
An acoustic guitar number at the Festhalle Frankfurt, June 15, 2005.