Enlightened Leadership Blog | The Musical Move from Street to Stage | August 2025
This month, we play with music, tuning into this question:
What happens when we move our focus from daily distractions on the streets of life to shared experiences with eyes on a stage, and music in our hearts?
There’s a powerful reminder about what it means to show up, connect deeply, and give a performance to remember. A memorable concert is felt.
If you’ve been reading the Enlightened Leadership Blog, you may recall What Does Music Have to Do with It? In that piece, I explored how business leaders can tap into their inner rock star to keep evolving and giving audiences a sense of belonging and satisfaction. For those of you who read my book Align Your Business with the Real You, or follow me on Instagram (@jlmaconsulting), you’ve seen my love of music and the relevant applications I make to business (and life).
Now, through the lens of a live music concert, we are studying how to move people from distracted to engaged, from stressed to eased, and from passive to present. This mental reset involves attention, emotion, and experience. Here are three key connections I made and the business application to each:
Show Up with Gratitude
When we enter a concert venue, we can turn off the noise. We are there by choice. We want to release other aspects of life to flow with the show. This is where we belong for a few hours.
The energy of a concert shows up long before the lights dim, music starts, and audience cheers. Artists rehearse. Artists (and fans) plan outfits. Crews perform checks. Performers warm up. There is far more that goes into live delivery than we realize. When it all comes together, it’s a beautiful exchange of musicians sharing their immeasurable talents, and the audience celebrating with them.
The best performers are present, dedicated to delivering what they love to who they love (fans). They feel grateful to be there and the audience can discern authenticity. Recently, at a Chris Stapleton concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Stapleton took a gratitude break, about twenty minutes into the show, and said to approximately twenty thousand fans, “Thank you all for being with us tonight.” He went on to say, “Your job is to have as much fun as you can possibly have in one night. I want you singing, dancing, whatever you want to do.” The audience obliged; there was a lot of singing and dancing as the crowd connected with themselves, each other, and the band on stage. This mutual gratitude is the pulse of a great show. Stapleton nailed it.
Legendary musicians are strategic. They know their audience, craft their message, and work with brilliant teams. Just like in business, loyalty is built through consistency, authenticity, and generosity. The legendary rock stars understand that the business of music isn’t all about public image, money, and fame. It’s about encouraging others to feel connected, to feel they belong.
Application 1: Connection begins with presence and appreciation.
In business and life, showing up and expressing real gratitude sets the tone. It’s critical to invest positive energy in your team, close network, and customers/audience through engaged connections and effective communications. What do they like? What do they want to do? What solutions do they seek? What do they want to feel? Use your expertise and creativity to give it to them. If you show up in a real way, with gratitude, this is not complicated. It flows out of you like music flows out of the most talented performers.
Create Moments That Matter
A live concert is an experience. A well-executed show immerses us in another time and place. It’s a musical break, sort of like we’re on vacation, away from it all, feeling.
A string of moments creates moments that matter. The opening act activates the crowd. When the main artist steps into the spotlight, the energy is amplified. Some songs can be recognized from the first note played. Some artists use pyrotechnics, creative lighting, costume changes, multiple stages, and unique special effects to boost the experience. Other artists can create an amazing and unforgettable experience with their presence, vocals, and a guitar. Either way, the intention of a stellar performance is to leave ticketholders with more than they came to see.
Live music is way more than in person sound; it’s a feeling. This feeling connects us to ourselves and to strangers. For a little while, in this time and space, we are dancing, singing, swaying, escaping, and healing. When connection includes gratitude, positive emotions run deeper. For example, toward the end of the Chris Stapleton concert, Stapleton thanked fans again, acknowledging that we could have been anywhere else, and chose to spend our time and money to be there that night. He added, “We certainly do appreciate it, and we never will forget it.” The gratitude felt mutual as the audience cheered and clapped more and went back to smiling, dancing, and singing for the remainder of the show.
Application 2: Be Unforgettable (in a Good Way)
Live musical performance is like a core offering. You have a chance to reset people’s minds, set the tone, and tune into your audience. You can move people out of the noise and into an experience only you can deliver, and they can feel. Great musicians deliver this. Whether they’re icons like Chris Cornell, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, or Ozzy Osbourne, or skilled storytellers like Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Eddie Vedder, Grace Potter, or Tom Petty, their talent paints vivid visions and stirs deep emotions.
You can be unforgettable in an effective way for your audience too. Think about your service, your product, your pitch. What is the reason people show up to see/meet you? Before you meet with another customer, ask yourself, Are we talking, or are we connecting, performing, and feeling?
Your delivery matters. The delivery is more than a routine performance. It’s about more than a transaction, revenue, or profit. It’s about pouring your heart into what you do because you want to do want you do well. You want to boost others. Good enough isn’t good enough when you care to your core about creating positive experiences for your audience. Go beyond informing, explaining, and meeting expectations. Venture into seeing and feeling your customers and you will unlock a new level of service and product delivery.
Feel the Afterglow
After the last song fades and the lights come on, we don’t leave the concert same way we entered. We may feel lighter and happier, like we hit our reset button.
Legendary artists understand that what happens after the music stops is just as important. It’s why fans buy merchandise, return for future tours, and build loyalty. That’s the real afterglow.
Shared experiences, such as live music events, demonstrate the potential for unity in diverse group settings. By setting aside personal beliefs or differences, even temporarily, we create space for collaboration, focus, and shared purpose. This approach deepens individual enjoyment and offers a powerful model for how teams and organizations can improve performance and culture. When we approach group environments with openness and a willingness to align around a common goal, we foster stronger cohesion, improved outcomes, and a more respectful culture. That impact can last after the live music stops playing.
Application 3: Leave a lasting impression.
The strongest brands and professionals deliver an encore that resonates through thoughtful follow-up, emotional connection, and meaningful engagement. Whether you are designing a user journey, building a service, or launching something new, consider what you want your audience to feel in the moment and carry with them afterward. Is it clarity, excitement, or a memorable moment worth sharing? The key is to be intentional about designing experiences to elevate customer experiences turning touchpoints into positive impact moments that matter longer term.
Turn Connection into Impact
Our work has the power to guide customers to engagement, ease, and presence when we dedicate attention, emotion, and experience. A live music experience reminds us of what is possible when we (and our talent) show up with intention and gratitude. By creating environments that encourage presence and emotional connection, we do more than deliver a service. We create moments that matter, and when those moments leave a lasting impression, the impact continues long after the experience ends.
By Jennifer Musser
See more and order Align Your Business with the Real You Here The Book – JLM & Associates Consulting and Align Your Business with the Real You: Connect with Yourself, Create What Matters Most, and Define Your Success by Jennifer Musser | Barnes & Noble®
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