What's the coldest outdoor gig you've done?

[aaronmarkson]

-5° in St. Paul MN. It was a beer dabbler event. I was playing electric. They had heaters on stage, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t feel my fingers after 1 song and had to just rely on my ears and muscle memory. It was stupid cold, but our guitars/gear survived just fine. We made sure to acclimate them to the cold weather slowly and then do the same when bringing them back into warmer temperatures.

[JTFoote]

22F and very windy. It was uncharacteristically bitter and miserable for a southern venue. On stage, at an outdoor shell set up in the main city park, in Columbus, GA. I really did NOT want to play the gig, but we were promoting a new music store that was owned by a good friend, using equipment recently bought from him, and the gig was advertised in the local paper. The band members all felt that we were duty-bound to perform.

I was playing a Guild jumbo, with finger-tip gloves. I couldn't feel a blessed thing, and with the wind, couldn't hear much, either. That was probably a good thing, as I doubt that anyone was in tune. Surprisingly enough, people actually came out to hear the music and dance, and the paper sent a crew to cover the event. I recall being pretty worried about the guitar during the gig, due to the temps, and once I got home, didn't take the guitar out of the case until the next day. It survived.

I DID decide later on that if another gig required a winter coat, ear muffs and scarves, boots, and gloves, I would reschedule, regardless. I love to play, but that was ridiculous!

... JT

[takamineGD93]

Got two christmas outdoor jobs now in december. Since I like to show up prepared I will busk a few times before.

My first thought when contacted was that christmas songs is not what I do.
Then I changed my mind. It's not about me and no job should be below me.

December in west sweden is normally around 0 celsius.