Laura Bibbs Comes into Her Own on Tour with Harry Styles The trumpeter and Boston Conservatory alum performed for record-breaking crowds across the U.S. and Europe.
By
Sarah Godcher Murphy
September 26, 2023
Trumpeter Laura Bibbs (fourth from right) joins Harry Styles and the rest of his band as they take a bow on stage at the RFC Arena in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Lloyd Wakefield
This past July, Boston Conservatory alum Laura Bibbs (B.M. 19, trumpet) found herself traveling abroad in a city she never thought she would visit, performing live with an artist she never imagined getting the chance to meet, in front of a crowd so enormous she could scarcely believe it.
At the RFC Arena in Reggio Emilia, Italy, Bibbs was sharing the stage with pop superstar Harry Styles, wrapping up the European leg of his Love on Tour, before an audience of 102,000 people. From her place in the horn section, she had a bird's eye view of the landscape: acres of screaming fans who evidently knew every line of Styles's songs and felt obliged to prove it by singing along as loudly as they could.
Bibbs says it's hard to find words for the sense of unreality she felt while performing in that show-and the many others that she played with Styles over the course of the tour, filling the largest arenas in Europe, night after night. Amazing doesn't quite cut it.
I don't even know how to describe the euphoria, she says. It was like a dream.
The concert in Reggio Emilia was an appropriately grand finale to Bibbs's collaboration with Styles, having first performed with him at Coachella in April 2022. (To this day, she doesn't know who recommended her for that gig, but would love to thank the person.) She subsequently was invited to join the North American leg of Love on Tour-which included a record-breaking run of 15 sold-out shows at both Madison Square Garden in New York and the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. The European leg of the tour followed in summer 2023.
Alum Laura Bibbs performed live and joined the Love Band for the North American and European legs of Love on Tour.
Lloyd Wakefield
It's really been a beautiful blossoming into myself. I'm so prepared, I know it. It's inside of me. It's finally like I'm just not afraid.
-Laura Bibbs
Of course, the high-profile gig has been a huge boost to Bibbs's career, but it's also changed the scale of her self-confidence. As a musician who has struggled with performance anxiety, touring with Styles has been a particularly huge success. Meeting the challenges of performing night after night-and having a blast in the meantime-has altered her perception of pre-show nerves. What used to feel like fear she now calls fuel.
I'm having so much fun that I can't be super anxious about performing, because I love what Im doing, she says. It's really been a beautiful blossoming into myself. I'm so prepared, I know it. It's inside of me. It's finally like I'm just not afraid.
Bibbs says she has always struggled with performance anxiety, and it worsened during her college years when the process of self-critique would veer off into self-doubt. When I was a student, I was so hard on myself. I remember struggling with my own inner turmoil as this teenager coming into my 20s-and having really supportive teachers, she says. They care about your wellbeing. They care about shaping you into good musicians and good artists.
Bibbs also found herself questioning the classical music trajectory that she had once imagined would be her career path. At the Conservatory, she sought-and found-opportunities to experiment with improvised music and create works that felt more authentic to her own life experience than traditional repertoire did. Professor Pierre Hurel's improvisation workshop, for one, made a lasting impression on Bibbs.
Hurel says the workshop is often an outlet for Conservatory students who, like Bibbs, want to put the repertoire aside for a while and express their own ideas.
When you play from the heart-when you improvise-nothing is written, so it's kind of putting your guts on the table. You're really opening up for people to hear what you came up with, he says. When Laura had a successful improv-and she had many-you could see she was very happy in a profound way, like spiritually uplifted by the experience. She really wanted to say something meaningful with her trumpet.
The improv workshop also helps relieve students of the pressure to constantly improve their technique. It's very common for students to feel incomplete, 24/7, because by definition you work on things you have not mastered yet . But the reality is they already have a lot to offer, Hurel says.
After graduating from the Conservatory in 2019, Bibbs moved to New York, where she began a career as a freelance musician and pursued a master's degree in contemporary performance from Manhattan School of Music, under the mentorship of trumpeter and composer John Faddis. As a freelancer, she has played on numerous session recordings and has performed live with artists ranging from Faddis to the songwriter and producer Cautious Clay.
On October 1, Bibbs will return to Boston Conservatory for Brass Weekend, a festival of master classes, workshops, and performances by visiting artists. Bibbs will speak with Assistant Professor of Horn Anne Howarth for a presentation called, fittingly enough, Making It in Music.
Bibbs has good advice for current students, and it's exactly what she needed to hear when starting out as an undergraduate back in 2015.
I would totally say to just, like, calm down. To just take a second. To be patient, be forgiving.
There were times she wasn't exactly sure how she was going to make it, Bibbs says, but she always knew that she would make it. If you have tha
North America Stories
09/05/2025
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Studio Technologies said the Harvard University athletics department has integrated Dante-enabled equipment from the vendor into its broadcast ...
09/05/2025
NEW YORK ITN, a provider of a local linear supply side platform, and Magnite, a independent sell-side advertising company, have announced that they working toge...
09/05/2025
LEEDS, U.K. Nugen Audio has launched a new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck and offered up quotes from technologists working at places like Netflix p...
09/05/2025
AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
When working remotely on broadcas...
09/05/2025
What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course?
Roland Kahlenberg May 8, 2025
0 Comments
There aren't many advanced After Effects co...
09/05/2025
Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
Trevor Morgan, COO of OpenDrives, shares how the co...
09/05/2025
Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates For the first time, BPMI will bring Berklee-affiliated artists and students to the ...
08/05/2025
A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...
08/05/2025
For skyward-bound operators, training focuses on the unique aspects of flying ISR missions, including the management of onboard surveillance equipment and the e...
08/05/2025
The cable industry has told the Federal Communications Commission it supports the National Association of Broadcasters' proposal to allow broadcasters to us...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Consumer Technology Association has continued its opposition to mandates requiring that NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuners be included in new TV sets, sa...
08/05/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real time visualization, has named Paul Maroni as Vice Pres...
08/05/2025
This year's UK Pavilion in hall 5, once again managed by Tradefair, will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to discuss and be involved in cutting ...
08/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Broadcast technologies, designed to support network operators and content provider...
08/05/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group has tapped Bill Nardi as vice president of station operations, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day broadcast operations ...
08/05/2025
SEATTLE LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy's training simulat...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Society of Broadcast Engineers has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission that support a proposal by the National Association ...
08/05/2025
Senior adviser to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake has announced that One America News Network (OAN) will provide newsfeed services for fre...
08/05/2025
EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden an...
08/05/2025
Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro
Graham Quince May 7, 2025
0 Comments
This very quick tutorial shows you how to take an RGB clip and apply its ...
08/05/2025
OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Nativ...
08/05/2025
Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan The Armenian composer, who was named Boston Conservatory at Berklees 2025 student commencement speaker, talks about his ...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music
Slick Rick's Victory with Idris Elba a...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit
11-Day Industry Event Launches with Tal...
08/05/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on AI in Workflows, Pushing Boundarie...
08/05/2025
Creating Alternative Brand Experiences: Live Sports in the Age of Fortnite, Meta...
08/05/2025
PGA TOUR's David Piccolo: Advanced Graphics and Virtual Production Tools are...
08/05/2025
Tech Focus: Advancing Immersion in Sports Broadcasting with AR and Virtual Produ...
08/05/2025
Back to All News
Now in Production: Comedy Action Film Husbands in Action'...
08/05/2025
Artificial intelligence is helping identify and treat diseases faster with better results for humankind. Natural disasters like wildfires are next.
Fires in th...
08/05/2025
Calling all wiseguys - 2K's acclaimed Mafia franchise is available to stream...
08/05/2025
As AI use cases continue to expand - from document summarization to custom software agents - developers and enthusiasts are seeking faster, more flexible ways t...
07/05/2025
Warsaw, Poland - April 28, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest March All Screens Video Landscap...
07/05/2025
LONDON Movie fans hoping to save money by waiting until their favorite new films appear on streaming services will have to wait a bit longer now, according to a...
07/05/2025
MECCA, Saudi Arabia Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) has selected Grass Valley to provide a major technology upgrade of its broadcast facility here....
07/05/2025
Sony and Nevion provide guidance on IP network architecture options for live pro...
07/05/2025
Media Pioneer Publishing AG Expands Editorial Capacity
Brie Clayton May 7, 2025
0 Comments
Pioneer 2 boat production environment powered by Blackmagic...
07/05/2025
LONDON Movie fans hoping to save money by waiting until their favorite new films appear on streaming services will have to wait a bit longer now, according to a...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau is seeking public comment on a Petition for Rulemaking from HC2 Broadcasting Holdings asking...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON Following a decision by U.S. Department of Education to terminate its 2020-2025 Ready To Learn to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, CPB has in...
07/05/2025
NEW YORK Fox's ad-supported streaming Tubi made a series of product and partnership announcements during IAB NewFronts in New York, including the launch of ...
07/05/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Google Fiber (GFiber) has announced a redesigned app that the company said will simplify how customers set up service, manage devices, and...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON NASAs on-demand streaming service, NASA+, has launched a FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) channel on Prime Video....
07/05/2025
NEW YORK The WNET Group, parent company of the PBS station Thirteen, has announced the appointment of Randall T. Decker to senior director, technology, effectiv...
07/05/2025
Atomos announced an executive leadership transition as the Company continues to evolve and expand its strategic focus.
Peter Barber, currently serving as Chie...
07/05/2025
Steve Wagner, Jerry Holway and Robert Orf at the 2024 Scientific and Technical Awards at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
The ...
07/05/2025
nxtedition, the Swedish company behind the leading integrated platform for news and program production, and TASCAM, the iconic Japanese manufacturer of professi...
07/05/2025
Signiant is bringing its Camera-Raw-to-Any-Cloud workflow to the UK for the first time at the Media Production & Technology Show 2025 (Booth# M69) with a live d...
07/05/2025
MNC Software Inc., a global leader in software and network solutions tailored to the broadcast and media industry, has appointed Gencom Technology as an officia...
Laura Bibbs Comes into Her Own on Tour with Harry Styles The trumpeter and Boston Conservatory alum performed for record-breaking crowds across the U.S. and Europe.
