I Still Can’t Quite Believe I Played the Apollo
An unexpected invitation, a very nervous soundcheck and 30 minutes on stage supporting Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso at Manchester’s O2 Apollo.
There are some emails that make you stop and read them again.
This was one of them.
An unexpected invitation to support Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso at Manchester’s O2 Apollo.
Was it real?
Was it actually going ahead?
And was I really going to be standing on that stage?
It was.
I said yes, and suddenly everything was being arranged.
I was excited, obviously. But I was also so nervous.
As a sound bath practitioner based in Tameside, my usual work with sound happens in a very different kind of environment. Sound baths are about creating space to slow down, listen and settle. This was going to be a very different experience of sound — and a very different audience.
And I had absolutely no idea what the night was going to feel like.
Arriving at the Apollo
When I arrived, I met Ca7riel outside the venue.
It was all slightly surreal.
We discovered that we both have a love of leopard print, which felt like a funny little thing to have in common in the middle of what was already a pretty extraordinary day.
Then I went inside.
Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, and suddenly all the things that make an event like this feel real started happening. There was my own dressing room. Snacks and drinks.
A make-up station. People knowing my name. It was all a bit crazy.
I remember thinking: this is actually happening.
Then came the soundcheck.
Seeing the Apollo from the stage
I'd seen the Apollo as a member of the audience before, but standing on the stage and looking out into the room was completely different.
It was huge.
I could see the space from the other side and started to take in just how many people would eventually be standing there. And then the nerves really kicked in.
There were technical things to work through, and I was stressed about getting the sound right. Would everything translate properly in such a big venue? Would it sound how I wanted it to sound?
There wasn't going to be the same kind of special setup or feedback I'd have in a normal sound bath space. But we got there, the sound team we great!
And then there was that strange moment during soundcheck of looking out at the Apollo and thinking about how many incredible and renowned performers had stood there before me. And now I was standing there too.
Thirty minutes to take it all in
I had about 30 minutes on stage, and I knew I wanted to really take the moment in.
There were so many faces in the crowd. So many people. And it was completely different from a normal sound bath. Usually, I have a very different relationship with the people in the room. The atmosphere is quieter and more contained. Here there was the anticipation of a live show, the energy of a crowd and the knowledge that everyone had come to see the main act.
I was excited. I was grateful. And I was still nervous. But something surprised me.
When I actually got on stage, I felt calm.
After all the build-up, all the nerves and all the worrying about how everything would work, I felt surprisingly spacious once I was actually there. I could just do what I had come to do.
And I could enjoy it.
Then the applause came
At the end, the applause completely blew me away. It was overwhelming — but in the best possible way.
I felt so grateful. And, if I'm honest, proud.
Not just because I'd played the Apollo, but because the whole thing had been so unexpected.
I hadn't set out thinking, I'm going to play the Apollo. The opportunity appeared, and I had to decide whether I was going to step outside what was comfortable and say yes. I'm so glad I did.
What the experience made me think about
I've come away from the night thinking even more about the different ways we experience sound.
My work as a sound bath practitioner is centred around creating immersive experiences through sound. I work with sound in a way that invites people to slow down, listen and experience what is happening in their body and mind.
Standing on the Apollo stage was obviously a completely different environment.
There was a huge room. A very different kind of energy. A very different audience.
And a very different relationship with volume, space and anticipation.
But there was still that same fundamental thing at the centre of it: sound creates an experience.
It can change the feeling of a room. It can shift our attention.
It can make us feel energised, emotional, connected or completely absorbed in a moment.
Experiencing the Apollo from the stage has given me another perspective on that, and it's something I'll take back into my work.
Sometimes the best opportunities aren't the ones you planned for
I think that's probably what I'll remember most.
Not just the venue.
Not just the fact that I was supporting Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso.
But the feeling of being given an opportunity I hadn't expected and having to think:
Right. Okay. Let's do this.
There was definitely a moment of thinking, this is way outside my comfort zone.
And then I did it.
I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who made the night so welcoming, to the team who helped me get everything sorted technically, to the audience who gave me such a warm response, and to the people who made the unexpected invitation possible in the first place.
And I'm very grateful that I said yes.
Because sometimes you don't need to know exactly where an opportunity is going to take you.
Sometimes you just need to be brave enough to walk through the door when it opens.
And sometimes that door happens to lead to the stage at the Apollo.
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