How does it feel to perform on stage, live in front of many people? Absynthe Minded now celebrates their 20th anniversary as a band. Lead singer Bert Ostyn explains how he deals with stage-fright after all these years of experience.

The audience screams in excitement and the applause is swelling – the Belgian band Absynthe Minded just performed their most popular songs at De Helling in Utrecht. “It’s a very positive energy,” lead singer Bert Ostyn says. However, he used to be not as relaxed about his shows as he is nowadays. As many artists, he sometimes struggled with stage-fright when he started his career: “When I was younger, I used to make the mistake to think about it and then to sing differently.”

According to a psychological paper by Clinical Key, stage-fright is a type of situational anxiety. Because of that, it can be overcome by for example relaxation techniques. Before going on stage, Ostyn tries to focus on what is going to happen. “I get more stressed when we play festivals, but right now we are playing our own sound set and that gives you a lot of comfort.” Even after twenty years, performing still feels exciting to him, but also easier: “In a healthy way, you get better doing it.” For him, dealing with nervousness is all about confidence: “Don’t hold back – you have to give all the energy you have. Keep on giving, that’s the trick.”