All-Access: Exploring Local Gigs with Mitchell Hendricks

Hi everyone! Welcome back & welcome if you’re a new reader. Today, I'm excited to share with you an interview I had with Mitchell Hendricks, a local musician from the lovely state of Pennsylvania. Mitchell is making waves in his local music scene, performing at various venues and events, and he's got quite the journey to share.

"I am performing pretty much anywhere that I can get my hands on the microphone. That's where I'm at," Mitchell tells us. "I'm doing a lot of farmers markets and restaurants and private events, I have a baseball game coming up, and two festivals coming up, all sorts of stuff like that. Just kind of trying to get my name out there and get people in my community familiar with who I am."

For Mitchell, music has always been a part of his life. "I've been performing forever, which is probably what everybody says," he chuckles. "But I've been singing in the choir since I was in fifth grade. I've been interested in music even before that. Yeah, I like, can't remember a time when I wasn't performing, learning how to sing, learning music, doing something along those lines."

After completing his undergrad with a double major in political science and music, Mitchell faced a crossroads. He was headed to grad school for public policy, but he couldn't let go of his passion for music. "I knew that the music part of my life wasn't something that I wanted to give up," he confesses. "So, I started researching and calling and finding anyone I could find who would give me a platform, and I just kind of have been going for it."

When it comes to his performances, Mitchell is all about versatility. "I do anything from the 50s to now," he says. "I try to hit on a little bit of every genre because when you're at a farmers market or a restaurant, you kind of never know who's coming through. People aren't really coming to see you. So I try to do something that will appeal to everybody. A lot of what I do is classic rock, but then I also do a good amount of pop music and a little bit of country and musical theater."

Mitchell's approach to securing gigs is admirable. "I sent 100 emails and made 100 phone calls and just threw everything possible at the wall and saw what stuck," he recalls. "So within reason, I'll kind of say yes to anything. I'll try anything once. And if it doesn't go well, I won't do it again. But it's an opportunity to get my name out there and do this thing that I really, really love, so I'll take it."

For aspiring gigging musicians out there, Mitchell offers some valuable advice: "Call and call and call and send follow-up emails and follow-up phone calls and be persistent. It's hard when you get into it a little bit late in the game, like I did. But for every phone call you make, you're gonna get maybe five responses. And that's okay. I can take the five responses and work with it. But if you aren't following up, if you aren't being persistent, then there's a really good chance you're not going to hear back from anyone."

When he's not gracing various venues with his music, Mitchell finds joy in collaborating with others. "I had one gig where I put something out to all my friends in the choir at Lehigh, where I'm going to grad school," he shares. "And I was like, 'Hey, I'm doing a gig at the farmers market on campus. If you want to come sing, let me know.' And I had like, maybe eight or 10 people respond and be like, 'Yeah, let's do it.' So I learned their songs, and we had a blast."

So what does Mitchell's typical setup look like at these gigs? "I'm flexible to whatever the venue asks," he explains. "But my go-to setup would be my guitar and my voice with a pedal that harmonizes my voice, making it sound like there are more people singing with me. It's a lot of fun to play with. And then I run that into a little soundboard and then into whatever speaker system I'm using. But depending on the situation, I'll break out the keyboard for some different songs."

And when it comes to crowd-pleasers, Mitchell knows just what to play. "One of my favorite things to do is to take songs that people know and reinvent them, find different ways to perform them," he says. "I do this cool acoustic version of 'House of the Rising Sun.' Anything Beatles always gets a great reaction. And, of course, 'Tennessee Whiskey' by Chris Stapleton is one of those country songs that non-country people love, so I enjoy seeing the reactions to that."

For Mitchell, music is more than just a career path; it's a lifeline. "Music is just a release for me," he confides. "As much as I can answer your question about what keeps me motivated, it's kind of the other way around. Doing music keeps me motivated to do other things. It's my artistic outlet, an opportunity to express myself, and it helps me get through the mundane things we all have to do."

You can catch Mitchell at his next performances:

Aug. 1 @ Northampton Farmers Market 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm

Aug. 4 @ Lehigh Valley Ironpigs 5:30 pm - 9 pm

Aug. 5 @ Bath Farmers Market 10 am - 11 am

You can also keep up with Mitchell on Instagram @Mitchell_Hendricks_Music

All photos taken by Amanda Hayes, Haze Media Kits.