JJ Lin Tour: Final Lap 2.0

Written By Sasha Ono

Just about a week until I head back out for JJ Lin Final Lap 2.0! As the newest member of the band, I am so excited to play cello with an absolute powerhouse of all women string quartet. As a female cellist, it’s been an absolute dream to work with these incredible women who are musicians, mothers, composers, world-travelers, and all around fabulous women.

So how do you prepare for a tour? Well, this is my first big tour and I’ve collected a lot of wonderful advice from my experienced colleagues. As someone who loves to have the comforts of home with her and loves to be prepared on the road, creating the perfect packing list was super important to me. I also highly value my own health on the road. As someone with celiac, it’s also important that I’m prepared and have things to eat and drink while on a busy schedule. In case this is helpful to anyone else, I’ll list some of the things that have really helped me so far.

  • Travel pharmacy: A little pill box you can organize with multiple medications. It’s nice because you can put a small amount of each into this little travel box. It’s easy to put in your bag for rehearsals, plane, and stage. I’ve got advil, Benadryl, Zyrtec, mucinex, sudafed, and excedrin.

  • ReliefBand: An absolute hero for anyone who gets carsick or plane-sick. I’ve found it even helps with headaches. This is a non-medication option for relieving nausea. With turbulence being pretty bad and a sudden onset of motion sickness this year, I just put this on and it’s really changed my whole travel experience.

  • Waterproof strings bag: I have a waterproof baggie I put all my extra strings in. This is great because you never know what kind of weather you’re in, if someone spills water or a drink onto your bag or case, etc.

  • Electric extension cord with USB-C outlets: This is the BEST thing, especially because we use iPads! You never know how far away you’re going to be from an outlet - at a hotel, airport, rehearsal space, etc. The extension cord I have has room for 3 plugs and then 2 USB-C outlets and 2 USB-A outlets.

  • Simple snacks: Apple chips, protein stroop waffles, protein bars, popcorn, individual packets of protein powder, gluten free instant noodles.

Otherwise, my preparation includes physical and mental prep! I am practicing the music, playing to make sure my stamina can last for the show, and exercising to be in good shape to endure the travel and stage schedules.

You can see me and cello in the following cities in February with the tour:

  • Los Angeles, California.

  • Toronto, Canada

  • New York, New York

  • San Francisco, California

  • Boston, Massachusetts

After that I will be headed to the UK!

Sasha Ono
Next

Welcome!