I found Bards fairly ok to lvling, but then I did lvl a Druid. Keep your weapon and music high, asusming Music is your insta DD. Keep getting the next highest lvl of DD as soon as it becomes available. Doesn't matter if you pick Blades or Blunt at 18 skill you get the next anytime style, so at 18th lvl you want to be picking that up right away. Keep your eye out for reinforced armour on the Meath merchants from lvl 15 onwards, that'll make a big difference. I think you get free weapons from your trainer up till lvl 20, so keep picking them up. I did Catacombs till about lvl 17-ish but be careful some of those mobs in the early zone are tough (mez? damage add?), then went back to Muire for a few lvls, now am lvl 19, will lvl in Muire a bit more prolly, then I think I know a good camp in the SI starter zone near the 2nd town.
Solo lvling is fairly easy, if you can find a small grp it is even faster and more fun, don't worry about anything except getting the lvl 18 anytime style and the dd spells till about 20th or 21st, then put some points into Nurture? for the next Clear Path run thing and a mez that will have a chance of working vs lvl 24 Thid players. Then you want to get into Thid and get MoP2 and Long Wind 1 as you'll be hitting alot of stuff as you lvl, then head to 39th and go into Molvik until about RR2L1 (ish) and pick up MoP3 and keep going. You really won't get many grps until you hit 50th, so don't worry to much about buffs or regrowth. Get some Regrowth items to make your heals more reliable and put a few points into it, but don't worry to much.
I can make some potions that regen End, so will drop a few lvl 10 and 20 ones into Cerns house vault, they are very useful and there should be a supply of buff pots in there also, they will really help you. They give 50 dex/quick and 50 str/con from lvl 10 onwards and will be a major driving force behind you beating stuff up. I'll try and kepe the vault stocked, but bit skint at the mo and prolly not on again till Monday/Tuesday.
Hope that helps!
Sax.