I’ve never fronted a band, not ever, not once in nearly 30 years of playing out. And it’s not because I’m shy on stage, either. In fact, I’ve been known to have trouble keeping my fool mouth shut in front of an audience, which is odd considering my general introvert tendencies.

But I’ve been the classic sideman a lot — the guy who you might not notice that much when you see a band, but if he skips a gig, suddenly the band doesn’t sound as good as you remembered.

I’ve found a way in music even though I don’t play one of the Big Four instruments — guitar, bass, drums or keys — and I have a voice I’d call decent-but-not-spectacular. I thought about this Saturday, after I got introduced at a gig this way: “On harmonica…and shaky things…and vocals…and mandolin, Randy Lilleston.” Fair enough description, even though I am still a painfully weak mando player, and it made me realize that everything I brought to a band was all about filling holes.

Need a little high lonesome background voice? I’m your guy. How about eight bars of harmonica chords just to set a mood? Right here. I’m actually really proud of my hand percussion — and in my experience, other musicians are really happy with a harp player who can actually keep time on percussion for once — and that is definitely the sort of thing that you often notice by its absence.

I also thought about all of this early Sunday after I woke up in the middle of the night, as I often do on weekends, and flipped on the TV. I found a Willie Nelson concert where he wasn’t playing with his usual Family array, but rather with a group of smokingly good acoustic musicians.

Among them was Jim Lauderdale, who you may not know but he’s played with everyone from Ralph Stanley to Elvis Costello. He’s in that sweet spot of musicians I really love — the kind of guys who think nothing of playing Dead songs followed by Howlin’ Wolf followed by a few stunning originals followed by some Muscle Shoals.

Lauderdale’s had some shots at fronting a band, and Lord knows he could do it, but he’s spent a bigger chunk of his career as the guy who makes other peoples’ ensembles sound better. That’s what he was doing with Willie, handling the backup and harmony vocals and adding a little acoustic guitar thickness. My man Mickey Raphael, another musician who understands his role, played alongside him.

It’s not a bad way to go, this whole side man thing. The best part is that the people who appreciate you the most are other musicians, and people who really understand music, and bar and restaurant staffers who have heard a thousand hammerhead musicians and get it when something different is going down. That’s all the gratitude I need to keep going.