Edgehill, the Nashville alternative band, has been making waves in the music scene since their debut album ‘Ode to the Greyhouse’ was released in February 2026. Their breakout single ‘Doubletake’ reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart in April, catapulting the band into the spotlight. As their audience grows, so does the pressure to maintain their authenticity and self-expression.

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Performance Anxiety and Self-Doubt

Frontman Chris Kelly spoke with us about the psychological demands of performing live. He revealed that he can count on two hands the shows where he felt completely present throughout. Onstage, Kelly becomes intensely aware of himself, his movements, and his voice. This self-awareness can create a feeling of disconnection, making it challenging for him to access his words during live performances.

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Kelly uses various strategies to cope with performance anxiety, including meditation and conversation with his bandmates and trusted individuals. Before a show, he might do a five-minute meditation, focusing on feeling his feet on the ground and bringing himself back into his body. He also finds that conversation helps him come down from the intensity of the stage.

Success Doesn’t Silence Self-Doubt

We often imagine confidence as the reward for success. However, Kelly watches videos of his performances and listens to live recordings, sometimes loving what he does and other times noticing the bad note or the moment he wishes had gone differently. He reminds himself that an imperfect performance doesn’t define him and that imperfection is part of what gives a performance its soul.

Kelly is learning to accept the unpredictability of live performance. When something goes wrong, he tries to remember that he won’t be in that moment again and that he should have fun with it, laugh at it. He is actively noticing where his thoughts go and reminding himself that making and expressing something already has value.

Staying Authentic in the Spotlight

Kelly wants to reach a place where he can walk onstage and ‘just be me in every single way.’ He emphasizes the importance of staying connected to why he stepped onstage in the first place, even as the audience gets bigger and the stakes get higher. Staying authentic and true to oneself may be what keeps all those watching eyes from defining who he becomes.

Kelly believes that emerging performers should have an ‘undying belief in themselves’ while also wanting to grow. He reminds them that making and expressing something already has value, and that holding onto that belief may matter even more as they face greater visibility and expectations.

Separating Identity from Performance

Kelly worries about whether ‘how I’m being perceived is consistent with who I think I am.’ He describes performing a vulnerable song as easier because once the song starts, you know where it goes. Being yourself between songs is less predictable, and Kelly wants to reach a place where he can walk onstage and ‘just be me in every single way.’

As his reach grows, songs acquire streams, rankings, comments, reviews, and expectations. Kelly described how quickly numbers can change an artist’s relationship to something they created. If a song performs well, you may suddenly think it’s better than you thought. If it performs poorly, you may begin wondering whether it’s simply not good.